《Broken Angel》


 Chapter 1: And so it Begins

    Ruins, that''s all he could see around him as he glided elegantly through what was once the greatest hidden village in the world.


    ''It''s a pity so much magical blood had to be wasted.'' the man thought as he sidestepped another dead body.


    Most people ignored the man, or simply didn''t notice him as he made his way towards his destination.


    The man couldn''t help but admire the scale of destruction around him, the power of the Nine-Tails was truly astounding. It bothered him that so much magical blood was spilled but he knew that if this village wasn''t taken down, all of his plans for the future would be destroyed. Ever since that blasted Minato Namikaze entered into his war, he and his Death Eaters hadn''t won a single major battle. Minato didn''t need to send his armies, as he could just go to the battlefield in an instant, no matter where he was previously. After he gave his special kunai knives to those damnable Order of the Phoenix members, his Death Eaters began being captured, it was so simple for Minato to appear and overpower his enemies, and then hand them over to the Order of the Pheonix of which his wife was a member.


    Lord Voldemort was a smart man. He knew he couldn''t take Minato in a one-on-one fight, that man was just too powerful and much too fast for the dark lord to contend with. So, he had to go with his ''partner''s'' plan. A tenuous partnership at best, but still, the masked man did deliver, and the devastation around him was a testament to how well the plan had worked. The only rub being that the Fourth Hokage was still alive. The two had prepared just in case the fox had been sealed and the village survived, to infiltrate and kill the new host, while the Fourth was weakened, thus ending the village for sure. Sadly, it seems his partner was not in decent health after the first attack, so Lord Voldemort was left to finish plan B on his own.


    Voldemort strode purposefully into the busy hospital, he had placed a powerful notice-me-not charm on himself, which let him easily outmaneuver, and pass by the many shinobi and civilians present in the building. Eventually, he made it to the room where he knew the Jinchuriki were.


    He opened the door and stepped in. Two Anbu black ops members fell from the ceiling in front of him swords drawn, their eyes were on the door, but with the Notice-me-not charm still active, he appeared invisible to them.


    The Dark Lord let out only the lightest of chuckles before he wordlessly sent two curses right at the Anbu, and given how close he was, they were unable to dodge. Both curses struck true, right in the Anbu''s chests. Both men wailed in agony, as they began to dissolve. Their armor and skin melted off, and soon their organs began to fall out of their bodies. With all the cries of pain echoing out all throughout the busy hospital, no one could hear the two warriors die in agonizing pain.


    The Dark Lord moved past the pools of flesh that used to be the two ninja and made his way over to a nursery on the far side of the room. Two children awaited there. One was crying loudly, obviously startled from the deaths of the Anbu, while the other just stared at him.


    Voldemort looked between the two children, it saddened him that innocent magical blood such as this had to die, just to kill one man. If that nuisance Lily hadn''t managed to convince her husband to get involved in the war in Britain, he would have no reason to be here, and these two innocent children wouldn''t have had to die. Sadly, however, he was here, and now he had to kill them. He gave both children a once over.


    The crying child was blonde of hair and had deep blue eyes just like Minato, she wailed loudly and if it wasn''t for the sizable power she was giving off, coupled with the slight trembling of the room from all the magic flowing off of her, he would have killed her immediately just to put an end to this. Yes, Lord Voldemort was a man of charisma and elegance, and he didn''t enjoy hurting children, especially magical ones, but this was Minato''s child, for her, he would have to make the exception, even if he wouldn''t enjoy it.


    He glanced over at the other child and was surprised to see her staring up at him. Only a day old and yet the look in the infant''s eyes was intense. Voldemort sensed power in her eyes, they were a very dark blue, almost black if the light wasn''t good. Her hair was a deep red nearly black as well. If it wasn''t for her facial features, he would think that this child wasn''t really Minato''s. Obviously, she took more after Lily but still.


    Voldemort stared into the child''s eyes and was surprised to see understanding in them. She looked like she knew why he was there. This caught Voldemort off guard, but he quickly recovered, dismissing the thought as absurd. Still, he knew this would be something that would bother him for quite some time, this infant had an unnatural awareness to her, she seemed so understanding, and yet remained content. It was surreal. Voldemort raised his wand and aimed it at her.


    There was a moment, a single quiet moment where he almost felt like he was upon a stage, performing an act. As if the strings of fate itself were being plucked, guiding his actions in this moment. He silently cursed whatever malevolent entity had guided him to this moment of cruelty. He stared at the child for a moment more, feeling a pang of sadness echo through him, he could only sigh, and return his focus to his purpose. Summoning his hatred, he uttered the words, "Avada Kadavra."


    He watched as the eerie green light shot from the end of his wand at the child, he saw the light impact her stomach, and he watched her flinch. But instead of going still, her eyes shot wide and in his last moment, Voldemort saw something that no one had seen in thousands of years. He watched in slow motion, the green light of his spell, still hovering in the air, as the child''s eyes changed. Her pupils became tiny, and her iris turned white, and then to his awe, her whole eyes turned a lavender color, and black rings appeared.


    In the half second that it took for this to happen, Voldemort became the first person in generations to lay eyes on the legendary Rinnegan.


    Suddenly, he saw the green killing curse begin to contort, the energy coalescing against what looked like some kind of shield or barrier, that had appeared around her body. He watched her crib warp and shatter, and he watched as the barrier expanded and the energy of his killing curse came hurtling back at him.


    And as the Shinra Tensei, infused killing curse slammed into him, the Dark Lord had but one thought, as his whole body was vaporized, as his mind and soul became a wraith, that though, was that this child, this infant, was a power unlike any he''d ever seen before, and would one day change everything.


    As Voldemort''s wraith hovered in the air for a second, it glanced around the now ruined room. It spotted the blonde child lying on the floor covered in blood red chakra that seemed to shield her from death. She had some splinters embedded in her skin, but they were quickly pushed out by the demonic energy and healed almost perfectly. For some reason, the demonic energy caused a mutation to occur, along her cheeks, three whisker-like marks appeared.


    The other child, the one who had just killed him was lying on the floor directly before him, her eyes returned to their normal state, and she began pawing at the air, a gentle cry escaping her newborn lips.


    Voldemort knew that to stay was to risk death, so with a swift motion, his wraith flew out one of the now open walls, leaving the hospital room behind, just as a doctor came rushing in to investigate, slipping on the dissolved bodies of the dead as he did.


    -A few minutes later-


    "What the hell happened here?!" Minato shouted as he walked into the room on crutches. He was exhausted from sealing the Nine Tails, and he was still suffering from the injuries he incurred from fighting the Masked Man.


    "I''m not sure my lord. The room just exploded. We rushed in here and found the two children unharmed, but their Anbu guards have been turned into slag." One of the Anbu informed him.


    "Where are my babies?" Lily Namikaze''s voice could be heard as she entered the room.


    "Here, my lady." a dog masked Anbu replied, he was carrying both children in his arms.


    "Oh, thank god." Lily sighed as she stepped up and took both her children.


    "What caused this?" Minato asked himself aloud.


    "Hm... perhaps an investigation is in order so that we may garner some information." A voice spoke from the doorway.


    Minato glanced over and spotted an old friend.


    "Headmaster." Lily greeted with a smile, getting one in return from Dumbledore.


    "Dumbledore sensei," Minato said with a little happiness crawling into his voice.


    "Minato my boy, it''s been too long. I heard of the Nine-Tails'' rampage, I and the other members of the order came as quickly as we could. Though it seems the danger has passed already." Dumbledore replied as he stepped into the room.


    "Yes, the Fox has been sealed. But it seems something is still going on." Minato replied as he glanced around again.


    "I wonder if this has anything to do with Severus''s mark fading." Dumbledore remarked aloud.


    "Snape''s mark faded?" Minato asked curiously.


    "Yes, not more than a few minutes ago, his mark began to burn and then faded, he sent me a Patronus with the news." Dumbledore replied as he pulled out his wand and made a few motions in the room.


    To his amazement when his wand passed over the ashes that sat in the center of the room, the dark mark appeared over them.


    "My goodness..." Dumbledore''s eyes widened in awe, as he looked at the mark.


    "That''s Voldemort?" Lily asked, recognizing the mark, and the spell Dumbledore used to identify who used magic in the room.


    "How is this possible?" Minato asked as he too realized what was going on.


    "Somehow one of the children must have done it." Dumbledore stated.


    "That''s impossible, these children are a day old, there''s no way they killed a wizard as strong as Voldemort." Lily replied as she glanced at the two bundles in her arms.


    "Allow me to check." Dumbledore stated as he stepped over to Lily, she allowed him to wave his wand over the two children, and to his surprise, the youngest, Naruko, began to glow red. They also took notice of how she now sported whisker marks on her cheeks. It only took them a moment to make the connection between the marks and what had happened.


    "The Fox." Minato stated as he looked at his youngest. "Its power must have somehow deflected Voldemort''s attack."


    "I think you are right." Dumbledore said as he eyed the child with shock.


    "She killed Voldemort." One of the Anbu stated in shock.


    "She''s a hero." Another said as the news of the Dark Lord''s death began to spread through the ranks.


    "Not only is she a hero for the village, but now all of wizarding Britain as well." Lily said with a gentle smile.


    "Killed the strongest Dark wizard alive at the age of one day old, that''s my girl." Minato said with a proud smile.


    If any of them had bothered checking the sleeping older child, they would have seen her eyes glow with the Rinnegan when Dumbledore used the spell. It lasted for only a moment before the visage of those legendary eyes faded away once more, taking the truth with them.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    -Seven Years Later-


    ''Run!'' A voice situated with her own mind shouted at her, it was a familiar thing and so she complied.


    Narumi ran through the streets and back alleys at a quick pace, she was more than fast enough to avoid the crowd of drunken fools behind her, but she didn''t want to go too fast lest one of the ninjas notice and question her about her speed.


    She passed through the streets of the village that she''d called home her whole life. Though in truth the place was more like a prison.


    Over the last seven years Konoha had been rebuilt and repopulated, though the echoes of that faithful night still lingered strongly in the minds of the people. For most, the village was a serene and gentle place, filled with laughter, and smiles, and neighborly friendship. For Narumi Namikaze, this village was hell.


    It wasn''t long before she lost her pursuers and arrived at her favorite place in the village, Ichiraku''s ramen shop. The food there was tasty, but the thing she loved about this place was the genuine friendly nature of the owner and his daughter. The two were kind with everyone they met, but their willingness to extend that kindness even to the village pariah elevated them in her eyes. It was the one place that she actually felt content within the confines of the village. The one place she felt a semblance of safety, if only for a brief moment.


    She sat down and the friendly chef Ichiraku smiled brightly at her and asked if she wanted her usual. She nodded, and the man got to work making her food.


    Narumi had grown a lot in the last seven years, she was tall for seven, though was slightly underweight. Her hair was now down to her mid back and was still the same color as the day she was born, whenever it was dark out, her hair and eyes looked to be black. Her skin was pale like her mother''s, and she was quiet and reserved most of the time, unlike her sister, who was loud and boisterous.


    Her Sister, Naruko Namikaze, the Girl-Who-Lived. Hero of Britain, Slayer of the Dark Lord Voldemort. What a bunch of nonsense. It was annoying to Narumi, so what if her sister was the Girl-who-Lived? It''s not like she actually did anything. The Nine-tails did most of the work.


    ''True.'' The Voice remarked as Narumi thought about her sister.


    The Voice had been with her since she was born, it was always there, offering her advice, training her into a better fighter, teaching her how to use her immense power. It was deep and gravely, definitely belonging to a man. And at times it could be harsh, and even antagonistic, but it was always there for her, and it often referred to her as it''s grandchild. At certain moments it may even speak with a gentle, almost fatherly affection towards her, which Narumi yearned for, and desired. She tried to hide how much those moments meant, though deep down, she knew the voice was little more than a figment of her imagination, and as part of her imagination it would know all of her thoughts and feelings. She often lamented that the voice wasn''t real. It hurt her to know that the one constant in her life, the one thing that held so much meaning to her, wasn''t real, so she chose not to think about it. Chose to ignore it, and treat it as if it was real.


    After a moment more, Narumi received her first bowl of Ramen and quickly began munching. As she ate, her thoughts turned towards her ramen obsessed father and sister, the two loved the stuff, even more than Narumi did. Her thoughts darkened at that. Her appetite beginning to fade.


    At first, it saddened Narumi when she thought about how little her parents cared for her, they never really talked to her or listened when she talked, no it was always about Naruko. Naruko this, Naruko that. ''Daddy, can you train me? No, I need to teach your sister.'' ''Mommy, can you show me magic? No, I need to teach your sister, maybe later.''


    That''s how it always was. She would ask and get shot down. Her relationship with them was quickly becoming antagonistic. Her parents hardly ever noticed her, and when they did, it was only when she really proved herself. Yet in those moments, she couldn''t help but notice the disappointment in Minato''s eyes, and in Lily, she saw what could only be described as resentment.


    She never understood why this was in either of their cases. What father wouldn''t be proud of their daughter''s accomplishments? What mother would resent her daughter''s growth? The conclusion she was beginning to reach with them, was that they were simply terrible people. It was the only thing that made sense. After years of trying to figure out what about her was so wrong that it would earn their ire, and finding nothing that made sense, she was left with only that conclusion.


    At this point though, Narumi was just beginning to move past it, she had stopped asking her parents for help, and just stuck with the voice, it never lied to her, and though it wasn''t always kind, it did help her, and support her, and when she accomplished her task, she was complimented. These simple things meant the world to her. Just a simple, ''good job'' was all she needed to be happy, but her parents wouldn''t even give her that.


    She had reached her breaking point with her family after a recent event. That event effectively cut her off from ever going to them for help or for praise ever again. When she first saw her father perform tree walking, in a demonstration to Naruko and her pals, Narumi immediately decided that it was a good way to impress him without showing off just how far ahead she really was, and when she went to show her parents and godmother, what she had accomplished they were less than pleased.


    When they found her hanging from the ceiling a proud grin stretched across her face, they didn''t praise her, they didn''t acknowledge her. When Naruko saw her, and began to pout angrily at her accomplishment, Narumi should have known she''d stepped in a mess. It was when one of her friends asked who Narumi was, causing Naruko to storm away in a fit of jealousy, that really set off her parents and Godmother. Lily had called her down from the ceiling and held her by the arm as she admonished her. She had yelled at her, for trying something like that without their permission. She called her rude, and cruel for trying to outshine her sister in front of her friends. Tsunade''s words mirrored Lily''s, finding fault in the small child. Minato''s cold stare was the worst. The disapproving look on her father''s face, shattered something in her. In that moment, through her heartbreak, she could remember feeling a rage that was not her own. It was so intense, and terrifying, yet it didn''t touch at her, but rather wrapped around her like a protective veil. She didn''t know it''s source, nor could she rationalize the feeling in the moment. Poor Narumi was stuck under their hateful gazes for what felt like an eternity, if it wasn''t for Uncle Remus and Kakashi being in the room at the time, Narumi was sure the slap her mother had prepared for her as retribution for this perceived act of defiance would have landed. She was glad they were there. Kakashi was her father''s student and like an older brother to her, she really liked him, while Remus was one of her mother''s friends from her school days, he was always kind and treated the twins equally.


    Through out of all the bad that occurred that day, they were the one good thing that came from it, she knew that if push came to shove, she could rely on those two to help her out. As when they saw Lily''s hand raise, Remus let out an angry growl and was at her side in a flash, and Kakashi was immediately between Lily and Narumi, separating the girl from her mother. It was only as Narumi backed away that she finally noticed just how tight her mother''s grip had been on her forearm.


    "That''s enough I think." Kakashi had stated, his look heavy and warning.


    "Kakashi what are you doing?'' Lily asked, blinking in surprise, her eyes quickly flickering to Remus and seeing the glare on her old friend''s face.


    "Stopping you from hurting your child. And you." Kakashi stated pointing at Minato who looked taken aback by Kakashi''s intervention. "You saw what she was about to do, you were really going to let your wife hit one of your children, your heir to be exact?" Kakashi asked with a dangerous look in his eyes.


    "This is none of your concern Kakashi, she needs to learn to be patient, and not act out like this." Minato replied.


    "Act out? She did no such thing. All I saw today was a child showing off what she had learned. Obviously, something she learned from watching others since I doubt anyone has taught her that. You should be proud of her. What reason could there possibly be for such hostility?" Remus asked with another growl as he eyed the two darkly.


    "She could have hurt herself for one, and spying on people is another issue we need to address. She needs to learn that not everything happens when she wants it to happen. Gods, it seems all she wants to do is keep pushing and pushing, always trying to one up everyone around her, especially her sister. One of these days she''s going to get hurt. She needs to learn patience; she needs to learn to accept ''no'' as an answer. She just does whatever she wants, all the time, and damn the consequences. Hurting others. Getting into fights. Pulling cruel pranks. You think for a second, she didn''t do this just to show off in front of Naruko''s friends? Don''t be a fool. If she ever wants to become leader of this family, she needs to stop acting like a bully. If she doesn''t shape up, then the role is going to Naruko. The only reason it hasn''t already is because poor Naruko already has enough on her plate." Minato replied coldly.


    Remus and Kakashi both stared at Minato with wide eyes, unable to believe the garbage the Fourth Hokage was spewing right now. Narumi for her part, felt her blood run cold. Her father actually thought that about her. He actually thought she was a bully. All of those things he mentioned, all of it, it was true, she got in trouble a lot, she pulled pranks, she got into fights, but all of it was either to defend herself, or retaliate against someone who''d wronged her. Narumi had never in her life hurt someone who was innocent. Hell, she could clearly remember helping innocent people when in danger. She beat up some bullies for bullying other kids on a few occasions. It''s just who she was. How could they not see that? Were they blind, or did they just hate her?


    The idea had soured her spirit, and before she even knew what she was saying, words spilled out of her mouth.


    "I hate you." Everyone heard someone say. They all glanced around until their eyes fell upon Narumi, who had her head bowed.


    "What did you say?" Lily asked, unsure whether she heard her right or not.


    "I said that I hate you." Narumi growled as she looked up at them her eyes had taken on a crushing blue appearance, they almost looked like bottomless pits the kind that if you looked into them for too long, you would fall in and keep falling forever.


    "You little brat! Don''t you talk about your mother and father like that! Apologize now!" Tsunade barked out angrily. As she saw the look of shock and anger on Minato and Lily''s faces.


    Narumi glared at them for a moment, staring at each one of their faces and the angry looks they held. She didn''t see any love in their eyes, any regret for the things they said. The lack of compassion and remorse was what put the nail in the coffin for her. Finally, she let out an angry huff, as tears spilled out of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. At the sight of her tears, she saw pain flicker onto the faces of Remus and Kakashi.


    "You know what? I''m done." Narumi muttered, feeling the need to just be done with all of this.


    "What?" Remus asked.


    "I''m done with those three. I couldn''t care less about leading this stupid family. And I don''t care about being your daughter anymore either. I''m leaving." Narumi stated as she turned and started walking out.


    "Get back here young lady. You are not leaving." Lily shouted at her, as she broke out of her stupor.


    Lily pulled out her wand but before she even had it raised Narumi vanished in a Body Flicker.


    "She can perform the Body flicker at seven. That is astounding." Remus stated, to which Kakashi nodded.


    "Truly. She''s truly remarkable. It pains me to see her treated so poorly for her gifts. You''d think given how gifted these three are, they''d know how to appreciate such talent." Kakashi offered in agreement, casting a rueful glare towards his former teacher.


    "Well, what are the two of you waiting for? Let''s go and find her." Minato sighed as he walked past them, his tone made it seem like he found the task to be annoying, rather than out of any sort of desire to make amends or fix this situation.


    "Why?" Remus asked with a defiant look in his eyes.


    "Remus..." Minato replied angrily, sensing his old friend''s reluctance.


    "You''ve never shown any interest in her emotional state before, no point in pretending to anymore. When she''s ready, she''ll come home, but for now, I''d say the three of you need to take a big step back and really examine what happened here today, because this, this was not how good parents react. This is not how family treats each other." Remus admonished them before sighing and turning to leave, deciding that he''d spent enough time in this village for now, and with the full moon approaching in a few days he had the perfect excuse to take his leave of it.


    "Ya know, if Obito and Rin were here, there''d likely be no shortage of words to rebuke you. Unfortunately, it''s just me, so you''ll have to deal with my candid silence." Kakashi stated ruefully as he too vanished in a Shunshin, leaving a disgruntled looking Minato behind. The Fourth Hokage stared at where his student had been for several long moments before feeling a tug at his heartstrings. The image of Narumi''s crying face flashed into his mind, and for a moment, Minato was reminded of a ghost, which caused his blood to run cold. He shook the phantoms free, and chose to heed Remus'' advice, Narumi would return when she grew tired of this tantrum. For now, it was best to wait. He and Lily needed to have a long talk. Their feelings towards their eldest had really shined through today, and the influence they had on Tsunade was not helping matters either. They needed to get a handle on this before Narumi returned, lest matters become worse.


    It had been about two weeks since that terrible day and she hadn''t been home since. Sometimes a few shinobi would corner her, and try to force her to return home, but it was never really her, she had a few shadow clones wandering the village, a technique the voice had taught to her, so they never were able to corner her. She was a master of pranking, and because of the viscous pranks she had already pulled on a few of the shinobi, they had since become wary of approaching her and had just decided to follow at a distance. It seems her father had adopted the approach that she''d see how hard it was to live alone and come crawling home sooner or later, as long as she didn''t leave the village and his Anbu kept an eye on her, she could do whatever for all he cared.


    Narumi actually found it easier to live on the streets, because she didn''t have to deal with heartbreak every time she went home. There were times when she would be locked out of the house, they would forget to include her at dinner, or even forget to take her on their trips. Now though, she didn''t have to deal with any of that. At times, she did miss her twin sister. She and Naruko didn''t have the best relationship, at times she downright hated her twin, but they were still sisters, and the voice often spoke of the importance of bonds between siblings, even if it would occasionally offer humorous criticism in regard to Naruko being an airhead, or a rambunctious brat.


    People in the village were fast learning just what kind of terror Narumi Namikaze could be.


    People learned fast that, she was not to be trifled with, as she''d turn her full focus onto them, and make their lives a living comical hell until they came begging her to stop. Now only the drunk or socially suicidal would dare mess with her.


    Narumi allowed herself to finish her meal in quiet contemplation. Once done she placed the money on the table, said goodbye and left for her next adventure. Whatever it was, she was sure it would be fun.


    -To be Continued-

 Chapter 2: Brother

    Narumi wandered around the village bored out of her skull, and more than a little depressed.


    It sucked having no friends, or people to talk to. The only four people she had to talk to were Kakashi, who was always on missions, Remus, whenever he showed up, and the Ichiraku''s but they were always working. She didn''t have any friends her own age, or pretty much any age. It led to things being unbearably lonely, and the glares and whispers from the people around just made things worse.


    Her reputation as a troublemaker kept parents from wanting their children to associate with her. People called her a bully, and that really angered her. To be lumped in with the same people who tormented her night and day, it stung at her soul, and made her hate this place, and all its inhabitants.


    She was only a couple of weeks away from turning eight and that meant the Kyuubi festival was going to occur. Which meant she would spend the day dodging drunks and hiding from dingbats who thought hitting a child made them heroes. At around this time every year is when people really got sensitive in regard to her status as a Jinchuriki. It wasn''t much of a secret to her. She carried the soul of the Demon Fox within her, forced into that role on the day she was born by her own damn father. The people of Konoha hated the Fox with a blind passion, and in many ways that hatred transferred over to Narumi. They saw her as the only means of striking out at the demon that had taken so much from them.


    It never made much sense to her, why the villagers chose to target her, and not Naruko. She only contained the soul and body of the Kyuubi, not any of its power. If the Fourth Hokage was as good at sealing jutsu as everyone claimed he was, then they should have no worries for Narumi, as the demon had no power to fight back with. It''s not like it could undermine the seal in any way, so they shouldn''t be concerned about her being corrupted or influenced by it. No, instead it seemed more likely that the people were simply looking for a way to hurt the demon and hurting her was the only way they could do that.


    It was the Voice that helped her reach that understanding. He was sure most people simply saw her as an avenue to pursue their desires for revenge and justice. They had all lost so much, and had no means of coping or moving on, so they sought whatever answer they could find. So what if it was irrational, so long as it made them feel better, that was all that mattered. When they looked at Naruko, they saw a hero, and that kept them from seeing her as a means to exact revenge on the Fox. She also only held its power, so hurting her, wouldn''t hurt the Fox at all. In Narumi they saw a powerless soul and that empowered them to act.


    This led Narumi to conclude that she would never have safety here in the village. People would never see her, they''d only see the Fox, and a means of hurting it. It was these thoughts that led Narumi to begin pondering her future, and what path she would take. The idea of becoming a ninja had always been on her mind, yet with these conversations, she became more convinced that becoming a Leaf ninja was a path to nothing but further pain, and more heartbreak.


    What else could she do, if she didn''t become a Leaf Ninja? Only one answer presented itself, and it twisted at her heart to think of it. She hated the idea, and she was afraid of it, but the truth of the matter was that it was likely her only means of escape from this hell, and that was to quite literally escape. To abandon the village and leave it behind. The idea scared her. The idea of leaving behind everything she''d ever known, it always made her pause, and it filled her with unease.


    Why couldn''t her family just love her? If they loved her, then all the rest of it, she could manage. Hell, even if it was only Naruko, she''d be happy. Having the love of her twin sister would have made it all worth it, because not so deep down, Narumi adored her twin. It wasn''t all that long ago that the two were inseparable, and Narumi could remember how Naruko would look up to her, despite there only being a few minutes age difference between them. It felt so near that time, and yet Narumi couldn''t remember when the last time Naruko wasn''t a brat around her.


    She wished it was possible to go back to that. All she needed was someone to love her. Someone who cared enough to be there for her when she needed them. She didn''t have that though. The closest she had was the Voice, nothing more than a figment of her own imagination. Pathetic.


    She turned her thoughts away from her darkened musing. She needed to find something to do, something to occupy her mind. If she was left alone with her thoughts for much longer, she might start travelling down to a darker place, and she really didn''t wanna go there again. She never wanted to feel that level of desperation and helplessness again.


    She needed to do something. She could always keep training, but that was boring. The voice in her head called her a prodigy unlike any it''d seen before, but she didn''t really have a basis to compare, and the Voice wasn''t real so that kind of compliment didn''t really matter. She also wasn''t sure if he was just trying to encourage her or if he was just exaggerating. Sure in a fight she could easily take any chuunin in the damn village, and if they weren''t expecting it, she could probably do some damage to a Jonin as well, but that spoke more about the skill of the village''s ninja as a whole, rather than her abilities. She was good, but she hadn''t had much of an opportunity to truly compare herself to another fighter.


    Her strength was her weakest point easy since she was still little, she couldn''t work on increasing her muscle mass until later, otherwise she may damage her body. Speed wise she was faster than any Chuunin in the village, and thanks to her Godmother''s drunken meandering Narumi was able to get her hands on some of her techniques, including info on her superstrength. She still hadn''t perfected it and could only triple her strength while her Godmother could multiply her strength one hundred times.


    Narumi had begun learning a bit about medical ninjutsu from stolen scrolls and the like, but these required an in-depth knowledge of anatomy and biology which she currently lacked, so she had to study up on those first before learning any sort of healing skills. Her genjutsu was alright, she only knew a handful of techniques, but they were decent, better than most Genin, and even a few Chuunin. Taijutsu, was one of her major skills, as the voice in her head, often claimed how it loved to bash people''s faces in with a kick or a punch, and Narumi couldn''t disagree, she''d broken a few noses, and wrists in her day, and it was fun to hear the crack or popping sound as bone broke, at least in her humble opinion.


    Her skill in Shurikennojutsu was great, she was fully capable of curving Shuriken around multiple objects to hit a target thirty yards away, and she could take the wings off a fly with a senbon at ten yards, so her accuracy was awesome.


    She was still too little to try to learn how to use a sword, but she liked the idea and was definitely into learning how when she was bigger. She was just now learning seal characters and found that she actually really enjoyed it, it calmed her when drawing out the Kanji for seals. She still hadn''t made many, about the best she could do was make a simple storage scroll but still.


    Where Narumi really shined was in skills that required less finesse. Like Ninjutsu and spellcasting. She didn''t have a wand but found she didn''t need one, she could cast a few spells with a wave of her hand though they were much more draining than she assumed they would be if she had a wand. Sadly, there weren''t any wandcrafters in the Elemental Nations, and the only other wand around was her mother''s, but she didn''t want anything to do with that woman. Right now, she only knew two offensive spells, two defensive spells and three utility spells like Lumos, which she had taken from some of her mother''s old books one time, before being caught and having them taken away and hidden.


    Ninjutsu on the other hand was a much less trying endeavor. She quickly figured out that she had a unique chakra system and magical core. She learned from Uncle Remus that Wizards and ninja use two different parts of their magical pathways to draw energy from. Wizards draw from their core itself, while Ninja draw from their Chakra coils, or tenketsu points. Because of this a wizard bypasses the eight inner gates and draws directly from where their magic is made, this means that when they start, they have much more energy at their disposal then ninja, but not full access to their magic, as most magic is pumped out of their core, as it''s made. This led to Wizards recovering magic quickly and suffering from less physical exhaustion but at the detriment of their magic being less dense. Ninja on the other hand gain a benefit later in life, since they draw energy from the coils, which are after the eight gates, meaning they have less magic to use, the benefit comes after a few years of using chakra, because the active use of chakra causes one''s coils to expand thus causing their core to speed up production of magic. So, it has been found that the few people who practice both methods, were exceedingly more powerful, Minato, Voldemort and Dumbledore were a few noteworthy individuals who practice both forms of magic.


    So anyway, Narumi possessed a unique magical system, if a Hyuuga were to look at her with their Byakugan, they would see a slightly larger than average core, and chakra coils. What they wouldn''t see is how tightly packed all of the magic in her body was. According to the voice in her head, her natural chakra control was so high, and her body so unique, that chakra and magic did not escape her pathways or core, thus giving the illusion that she only had an above-average amount of magic, when in reality she had an incredible amount of chakra, more then Jiraiya even, and he had the second largest reserves in Konoha after her twin Naruko.


    The Voice didn''t quite know what to make of her incredible amount of Chakra. At such a young age, and without the actual power of the Nine Tails within her, she should have just had above average Chakra amounts. Having more than one of the Sannin, that was something that shouldn''t have been possible without being a full Jinchuriki.


    It had no explanation, and Narumi certainly didn''t know what to make of it. All that she knew was that having that much chakra made performing magic much easier.


    Thus, she was a savant when it came to ninjutsu. She hadn''t yet figured out her base element, but if she had to guess it was likely fire and lightning, but she''d have to buy chakra testing paper, and she already had to deal with outlandish prices when buying food and clothes, no way was she spending money on a piece of paper when she didn''t have any problems with learning any of the five elements. In all actuality, Fire and Lightning weren''t even the easiest, they were just her favorites. According to the voice in her head, fire and wind were his favorite, because independently they caused immense damage, but when combined they were unstoppable. He didn''t blame her for liking lightning over wind, it fit her personality better. All in all, she had eighteen jutsu of varying elements under her belt.


    So, when it came down to it, Narumi was good to great in all areas, but because she didn''t have a teacher, she couldn''t really pull ahead in any area, so she just jumped between them. One skill that she possessed that no one, not even her famous sister could boast of having was being one incredibly tough little girl. Narumi could take one hell of a beating, as she would often have taijutsu matches with her Shadow clones and handicap herself in some manner or another. So, she toughened up quickly, the beatings from the villagers didn''t hurt in that department either.


    She thrived on the adrenaline of combat, she never felt more alive than when she was fighting, actually fighting. Sadly, the number of people that could actually fight her was getting smaller by the day. However, the number of people who could dance with her was still high.


    That''s what the Voice called it, he had once described the nature of battle to her. The threat of it, the intensity, how at any moment, your life could end. Unless your life is on the line, it''s not a fight. When there is no chance for your opponent or it''s so astronomically small, that it''s not worth mentioning, it''s not a fight. He called any other bout between two warriors a dance. This truth helped to shape her own ideology. She came to view it the same way, unless threatened by death, it wasn''t a true battle. At most, it was a playful dance, a word used to emphasize the nature of battle as a form of expression.


    Her natural abilities were simply incredible, there was no other way around it. Why was she so skilled, why did things come so naturally to her, she didn''t know. The Voice in her head, simply said that she was special. What it meant by that; Narumi had no idea.


    So, if not training, what else could she do? After a few moments of not being able to think of anything she just decided to train anyway. At least it would give her something to occupy her time.


    Narumi made her way to one of the rarely used training grounds and just started her normal exercises, she started running around a nearby lake, and after that was finished she worked more on her control, so she went to the tree to practice her bounding skill.


    Bounding was the term used to describe the act of jumping onto a surface and using chakra to stick. Naturally, it was harder than tree walking or water walking, as you only had a fraction of a second before gravity grabbed you and pulled you down. The hardest form of this training was going from water to a solid surface that hung above the water, forcing the person to keep flipping upside down to get their feet beneath them. It was very tiring, most chuunin weren''t able to do it for more the a couple of minutes before either tiring or barfing.


    It had probably been thirty minutes when Narumi landed upside down on a tree limb with a sigh, she moved atop it and sat there. She let out a few tired breaths when suddenly she felt something cold and sharp press against her neck.


    "You''ve got some stamina there girl, but you should know never to let your guard down." A voice mockingly stated from behind her.


    "You''ve got one second to get that blade away from me before I explode." Narumi stated in a cold tone.


    "Brave words little girl, but I''m the one holding the blade." The voice replied, in a condescending tone.


    "One." Narumi spoke with a snarl.


    "... What?" The figure asked, but he didn''t get time to contemplate her statement as the Narumi he held captive suddenly and violently exploded, sending the would-be assassin flying into a tree. He slammed violently into it and fell to the ground the wind knocked out of him.


    "Holy shit... how does a seven-year-old know the Shadow Explosion jutsu?" The man asked while trying to regain his footing.


    "That, like living, is no longer your concern." Narumi stated coldly. She wasn''t sure she could go through with her statement and actually kill the man; she''d never killed anyone before, but for some reason his attempt on her life, made her feel as if his life had just been made forfeit and now it was her right to take it.


    In her head the Voice spoke, identifying weak points to target to take down the bigger foe quickly before they could recover. She took the moment to note that this man... boy... couldn''t be more than twice her age. He was taller than her, but not tall enough to be an adult.


    Killing him, it was a vicious thought, but with the week she''d been having, she was slowly starting to lose her grasp on civility. Such anger, it was uncharacteristic of a child.


    "Wait!" Another voice shouted as a Weasel masked Anbu landed next to the downed boy, who turned out to be a Crow masked Anbu.


    Narumi stepped out of the shadows and stood before the two men as the Crow masked one finally made it to his feet, he was holding his ribs, obviously, they were broken from the force of the explosion.


    "Why should I? He attacked me. Tried to kill me. That makes his life forfeit." Narumi replied darkly.


    "Please lady Narumi, my idiot friend did not mean anything by his attempt, he was just trying to scare you." Weasel tried to explain.


    "And why pray tell, did this moron think that placing a blade to the throat of someone with my reputation was a good idea?" Narumi asked, her eyes alight with fury.


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    "That''s just why." Crow stated. "I heard everything about you from the others. Our Captain, Dog, he speaks highly of you, and he never speaks highly of anyone. I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I saw you training, and it truly looked like your guard was down, so I decided to see what he was talking about. I was only intending to scare you, I swear. Had I known those stories were true, I would have never tried something like this." Crow explained in pained breaths. The two men knew that Crow was in no condition to fight. That technique had been at full power, and it damn near killed the fool for his prank. Both men knew that in his condition, Crow couldn''t fight a kitten, let alone a seven-year-old with a reputation of screwing the Anbu side-ways every chance she got.


    "Well, Crow... you should have studied your target more. If you had, you would have known that I never drop my guard around the fools of this village." Narumi stated with the glare in her eyes never leaving the two men.


    "Please my lady. He is very sorry and meant no harm, allow him to get medical attention, and we will find some way to repay you." Weasel offered.


    "Yeah, I''m truly sorry, there was no other motive besides spooking you. It was a stupid idea, and I regret it. If there''s anything I can say or do to apologize, please let me know." Crow informed her as he tried to straighten up and look professional.


    Narumi looked like she was thinking their offer over when the voice suddenly whispered a suggestion. After a moment Narumi replied.


    "Go get your ribs checked out. The two of you will be back tomorrow and every day that you are free from your Anbu duties afterwards for a full thirty days. During which you two will teach me. Once your thirty days are up, you''ll have repaid your debt, is that fair?" Narumi asked, with a menacing grin.


    The two men shared a look where Crow simply shrugged, and Weasel let out an audible sigh.


    "Very well. If this will forgive this trouble he is in, then we''ll do it." Weasel replied, receiving a nod from Crow.


    "Good. See you tomorrow boys. And try not to sneak up on anyone for a while, Crow. You might get bitten again." Narumi said with a girlish chuckle as she turned and skipped merrily away, uttering a vocal thanks to the voice for its wonderful suggestion. Both of them heard her, but didn''t know who she was talking too, it left them more than a little creeped out.


    "Next time Shisui, when I tell you it''s a bad idea to do something. Listen." Weasel stated with a sigh.


    "Yeah yeah, don''t get your panties in a bunch Itachi, it could be worse. Besides, a month learning what she can really do? I''d gladly get blown up again, for a chance to see that." Crow replied.


    Weasel simply shook his head and let out another sigh before stepping up to help support Crow, "Let''s get you to the hospital, we''ll discuss your antics later." Weasel stated as the two started walking.


    "Yeah yeah. I''ll be sure to pay attention mother." Crow replied dismissively.


    "You''d best. Otherwise, I''ll have to tell the rest of the team how you were just defeated, with one jutsu, that was used by a seven-year-old girl who isn''t even a ninja yet." Weasel said with a bit of mischief evident in his voice.


    "You wouldn''t dare." Crow muttered.


    "Would I? That is the question. But it''s for later. For now, let''s get you to the hospital and figure out the damage." Weasel replied.


    The next day, the two Uchiha arrived on the field to find Narumi meditating peacefully. After a couple moments of silence, the older of the two cleared his throat loudly enough for her to hear.


    "Welcome back Weasel, Crow." Narumi stated as she opened her eyes and stared at the two Uchiha.


    "Hey girlie, we''re out of uniform right now, don''t call us that, just stick with our names." The older of the two said, as the younger just adopted a disgruntled look.


    "Very well. What are your names?" Narumi asked.


    "Shisui and this is Itachi." Shisui replied.


    "Ha! I blew up Shisui the Teleporter! That''s awesome!" Narumi suddenly cheered with glee, as she recognized the famous boy, while also taking note of Itachi as the Uchiha clan heir.


    "Ah... hey you caught me off guard... and..." Shisui tried to defend himself.


    "You had to have your friend here stop me from maiming you. I''d constitute that as a win in my book." Narumi told him with a smirk.


    "She''s got you there Shisui." Itachi replied with a smirk of his own.


    "Shut up both of you. Let''s just get this started." Shisui replied, obviously embarrassed.


    "Alright then. Let''s begin. What would you like to learn first?" Itachi asked.


    "Well I know a bit of pretty much everything, shinobi wise, so I can learn and grow in any area." Narumi replied with a thoughtful look.


    "Well, what are your strengths and weaknesses?" Shisui asked. He was very interested to hear her reply, since being injured, he''d started to believe the things his captain had said about her and was immensely curious to hear from her own lips just how strong she was.


    "Hm... my strengths are probably Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. My weaknesses are probably genjutsu and medical ninjutsu." Narumi replied after a moment of thought.


    "Well cool. I can help you improve your strengths and Itachi here can work on your weaknesses. I''m great at Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. Itachi''s great at everything, but where he really shines is Genjutsu." Shisui stated, earning a nod from Itachi.


    "Alright let''s just switch off, Weaknesses today, strengths tomorrow." Narumi suggested with a happy grin.


    "Hey whatever you want. You''re the one holding us hostage here." Shisui replied with a chuckle.


    "Yeah, and I''m gonna milk this for all it''s worth... Sensei." Narumi responded with a wicked grin.


    The two Uchiha shared a look before chuckling at the little girl''s antics.


    "Alright, let''s begin then." Itachi stated.


    And for the next thirty or so days that''s how it went. The two boys would show up early, and train Narumi for a couple hours. It shocked the two at how good she was. Both were considered prodigies, and she wasn''t nearly up to their level yet, but damn if she didn''t give both men a run for their money. Where she couldn''t match them in skill or strength, she could beat them in stamina, and chakra. Plus, the two men didn''t expect her use of spells, Itachi spent a good portion of their fourth day together dodging stunners.


    Narumi had fun with the two guys. They were both kind, and while Shisui would often tease her, and get into competitions with her, he was always respectful. Itachi was the same way, he may tease her every so often, but he treated her with respect. Another good thing about them was that neither man pried into her reasoning for never going home. They learned the truth when Dog asked them where they had been spending all their free time. When they told him, he in turn told them the things that had happened at the Namikaze estate a couple of months back and asked the two to keep an eye on her. The two men were shocked and angered that their own Hokage would treat his child like that, both men lost a lot of respect for the Fourth after hearing that.


    Neither ever let on that they knew the truth. They quickly realized that Narumi was a prideful girl, and that to pity her, was tantamount to insulting her, and she didn''t take insults kindly.


    Narumi learned quickly and it often left the two men flabbergasted at how she could learn a B-rank Ninjutsu in one day and have it mastered within a week. Her massive chakra stores allowed her to spam incredibly high-level techniques while her incredible control allowed for her to use delicate techniques and abilities. Learning from the two, helped her to really hone her skills and finally gain some battlefield experience. Fighting against actual skilled shinobi did wonders for her, and with tips and observations from the Voice, she quickly began to overcome the challenges both young men put before her.


    On October tenth, Narumi''s birthday, she spent most of the day alone, but shortly before sunset, Shisui and Itachi found her and gave her birthday presents. Narumi was ecstatic, she was so happy that she was bouncing around the whole time thanking the two profusely. Aside from Remus, and Kakashi, the only other person who really got Narumi gifts for her birthday was Naruko, though seeing as how she didn''t have money of her own, they were mostly simply trinkets or things she''d made or found, yet those presents carried a deep meaning to Narumi. One she still carried with her, as a token of remembrance of the time when the twins were close, was a hair clip, meant to keep Narumi''s wild bangs from falling into her eyes. She''d given it to her last year, and Narumi still wore it, often times lamenting on it, and remembering how the two used to be friends. Even a year ago, the two had been growing further apart, Naruko was began treating her with more and more resentment, and began bullying her and making fun of her, it only got worse as time went on.


    This year was probably the best birthday she could remember.


    She had received a Tanto and Wakizashi from Shisui. Both were plain blades obviously just meant to be cast away when they broke, but he figured she could use the tanto now and learn with the Wakizashi before moving up to a larger sword when she got older. Narumi had always been fascinated by the sword, and having been gifted ones by Shisui with his assurances that he believed she could be great at Kenjutsu really inspired her to begin learning the art. His opinion of her was beginning to mean a great deal to her. Itachi got her some blank scrolls, along with new ink and brushes, for her sealing practice, plus he got her a book on human anatomy, since he knew she had an interest in learning medical ninjutsu, and he knew that was one of the required fundamentals if you ever wanted to get good at it.


    She was so happy with her gifts; she didn''t have to wait long to get her gifts from Kakakshi. Kakashi had stopped by a little bit later, and gave her his gift, a fresh pack of Shuriken, Kunai, and senbon, since hers were all getting dull, or broken. He also dropped off Remus''s gift, since it was that time of the month again, and he was off dealing with his furry little problem. Remus''s gift was a book on basic transfiguration spells. Remus knew of her ability to use spells without a wand, so he knew she would make good use of this gift.


    All in all, a great birthday. Narumi ended the day with a smile on her face, which had become a rarity these last few months


    Her training continued, and she received further praise from her two teachers, who found her rapidly growing skills to be almost unnatural.


    Eventually though, her time with Itachi and Shisui, came to a close. The thirty days were up, and she didn''t expect to see them as often anymore. They both promised to keep showing up and helping her whenever they could, but still, she had held them for long enough, and though it saddened her immensely that she wouldn''t have them as a constant in her life any longer, she had come to care about the two enough to let them leave, if that''s what they wanted.


    To her surprise not two days later, Shisui showed up again and offered her more training. It seemed the man had come to view her as a little sister and had enjoyed the time they spent together.


    Narumi was so happy to have a true friend like Shisui, sure he was like twice her age, but still, he was so nice to her. And treated her how she wanted to be treated. He became her first true friend, and that idea alone, was enough to restore Narumi''s hope in a brighter future. It motivated her and filled her with purpose in the morning. Having a friend was all she ever really needed, and now she had one. It was a life-changing experience, and she was eternally grateful to Shisui for giving her this chance, and for being her friend.


    Things continued with them training for several more weeks, Shisui, showed up as often as he could to train her. Sometimes Itachi would come with, but with his recent promotion to Anbu captain, his free time got slashed immensely. Still, Narumi wasn''t bothered by it, she came to view Itachi as her second friend, and the two men collectively became her older brothers. She was always so excited to meet with them, it filled her days with joy and made her forget about her family.


    One day about a month after her birthday she and Shisui sat atop the Hokage mountain, watching the sun set.


    They had just finished another rigorous day of training and honestly, in Shisui''s opinion, the girl was going to soon pass him up, she just learned everything so fast, and her skills grew at such an astounding rate, that she was often measurably stronger after each passing day. Today had been the closest she''d come to beating him in a straight-up fight, the fresh cut on his cheek, was a testament to how close her blade had gotten.


    Shisui, couldn''t help but smile as he thought on her progress, it really made him proud as a sensei, that his student had come so far in such a short time, he glanced over at her, and saw her staring into the sunset, with a content smile on her face.


    All he could do was smile as well and wonder what tomorrow would bring.


    -Six days later-


    Some time had passed and the two continued their training, currently, they were both in the training yard, going all out against each other, Shisui had his Shunshin technique at full power and was flying across the field to avoid Narumi''s jutsu and a barrage of shuriken.


    The girl moved with incredible speed for one so young. She undoubtedly surpassed where both he and Itachi were at that age; hell give her a year and she''d probably be on par with where they were now. He was amazed by her growth in power, and he worked diligently to challenge her and encourage her to keep growing. Potential like hers comes around once in a lifetime and it had to be nurtured.


    He came to a halt and began to speed through hand signs, preparing to launch a fireball at her, when he spotted something odd.


    Narumi was watching Shisui intently as he came to a sudden halt, he had been moving with frightening speed, not holding back this time around. Many of the man''s movements were little more than a blur to her, yet with each passing moment, with every blinding movement she found herself getting a clearer and clearer view of his actions. It was almost like she was adjusting to his speed, her eyes adapting to perceive his movements. As the fight persisted without her landing a hit, she felt her frustration growing. She watched him come to a halt and begin to speed through hand signs, and for a moment his hands moved too fast to follow but then, time seemed to slow down, she saw his hands move clearly, she could understand the hand signs and recognized the jutsu. His body began to glow, an airy blue light beginning to manifest around him. She''d never seen a jutsu like this before, so she immediately tensed up in preparation for the unknown.


    A chuckle filled her mind, the source coming from the Voice.


    Before she could question what that was about, she saw Shisui pause for a second, as he stared at her, almost like something had startled him. He fell out of a fighting stance, yet the blue glow remained around him.


    "What?" Narumi called out as he stopped his hand signs and started to walk towards her.


    "Your eyes... they''re glowing red." Shisui stated, more than a little worried, since he knew what she held within her.


    "Huh? Red?" Narumi replied with confusion. She fished out her tanto and looked at her reflection in the shining metal. She saw that her eyes were indeed red, and there, next to each pupil was a single tomoe.


    "Is that..." Narumi began.


    "The Sharingan." Shisui replied once he was close enough to confirm it.


    ''A gift, one your father never managed to gain.'' The voice in her head stated.


    ''A gift... from who?'' Narumi thought back in reply.


    ''Me. You thought I was nothing more than a figment of your imagination. Ha! I told you, silly girl. You''re my grandchild.'' The Voice replied to her, amusement coloring its gravely tone.


    ''My Grandfather? So... that means you''re an Uchiha? Or were.'' Narumi thought as she admired her reflection. She''d always wanted eyes like the Uchiha, she just felt a connection to those powerful red eyes, when she saw them in Shisui or Itachi, she couldn''t help but admire them. It was such a powerful Dojutsu and she had always been fascinated with it.


    ''I was once a member of the Uchiha clan, in a time so very long ago. Now I am nothing more than an echo of the past. A reflection of our former greatness. I am the Ghost of the Uchiha Clan.'' The Voice replied anger, disappointment and a tinge of regret could all be felt in its words.


    ''So that means, Naruko and I...'' Narumi began to think but was cut off by the voice.


    ''No! Don''t even think to lump your loser sister in with you. She''s proven herself to be little more than an extension of her parents. Even if she somehow managed to awaken these eyes of ours, it wouldn''t do her much good. A strong pedigree never truly compares to a natural born prodigy.'' The Voice cut off any line of thought in that regard. Narumi was taken aback for a moment, taking in its anger towards her sister, an anger that she sometimes felt as she wondered what had happened between them. She couldn''t disagree with the Voice''s assessment about her twin. Just an extension of her parents. Yeah, that seemed to sum up Naruko lately.


    Narumi took a moment to rationalize this, to situated everything clearly in her mind. She possessed the Sharingan, and the Voice in her head, that had been with her all her life, wasn''t actually a manifestation of her mind, but the voice of her grandfather. That was incredible. For a moment she felt herself recalling all of the times the Voice had helped her, or guided her, or encouraged her, it all made sense now, and it made her feel warm inside. To have something like that, to have the guidance of a family member. She had no idea why it had taken her this long to actually believe the Voice, as it had always made the claim that it was her grandparent. Perhaps the manifestation of the Sharingan a thing she''d have no explanation for, finally gave her the evidence she needed to believe it.


    "This is amazing. You''re an Uchiha... wow. I guess that explains the nearly black hair and eyes. You must have gotten our genes, still I wonder which side of the family it comes from. Neither of your parents have it." Said Shisui with a look of amazement plastered on his face.


    "Yeah... my uh... grandfather was an Uchiha." Narumi said as she continued to look into her eyes.


    "Wow... since your mother isn''t from this land, that means it''s most likely your paternal grandfather. Huh, the Fourth Hokage is an Uchiha... wow... That''s... that changes things..." Shisui thought aloud, something touching at his voice as a realization struck him. Whatever had caught his attention went unnoticed by Narumi.


    "I wonder where the blonde hair and blue eyes comes from?" Narumi mused.


    ''No clue where that blonde hair came from. He had black hair and eyes when he was little.'' The Voice stated.


    ''Hm... so you really are my grandfather? How is it you are talking to me? Are you like an actual ghost, does that mean you''re dead?'' Narumi asked.


    ''It''s complicated. The short of it is that I placed a piece of my chakra into your father when he was a small child, but it got locked away. When he sealed the Fox''s soul into you, a connection formed that allowed me to transfer over to you. That same seal that kept me from speaking with him is not present with you, that coupled with the fact that you have a mindscape that I can inhabit thanks to the Fox''s seal, allows me to talk to you.'' The voice explained.


    ''Oh... okay. Well... I''ve always just called you Voice, but now that I know you aren''t just a figment of my imagination... do you have a name?'' Narumi asked.


    ''Yes... yes, I do. My name is Madara, Madara Uchiha.'' His answer, smashed into Narumi like a truck. Madara Uchiha, her grandfather was Madara Uchiha!


    One of the two founders of the Hidden Leaf village, the only one who could stand against Hashirama Senju, the strongest shinobi to have ever lived. He was her grandfather? Narumi was left in a dumbfounded stupor for much of the rest of the day, only breaking out of it to learn from Shisui how to activate and control her newly awakened eyes. With this newfound revelation, a great deal would soon change for her.


    -To Be Continued-

 Chapter 3: The Incident

    It had been a week since Narumi had activated her Sharingan. She and Shisui had been training with it nonstop, and like everything else, she took to it, like a fish to water. She already had two tomoe in both eyes, and she felt her power soar with each passing day. With the power of the Sharingan, Narumi was now able to learn techniques even faster, she would just copy them, and then master them. Most Uchiha made that mistake, they would just copy a technique, never work on it, or master it in any way.


    Shisui hadn''t told anyone about her Sharingan, not even Itachi, he wanted it to be a surprise for when he showed up for training again. Shisui was sure that by the time her Sharingan fully matured, she would finally surpass him. She''d already won a few of their fights, by using her Sharingan to avoid his attacks, and then just outlast him. It would be a while before she was more skilled than he was, but skill wasn''t the only thing that mattered in battle. In a fight, every variable could ultimately be the deciding factor.


    "You''re doing amazing Narumi. If you keep this up, you''ll have the Sharingan mastered faster than anyone ever has. Your progress really is impressive." Shisui told her as the two stopped to rest for a few moments.


    "Thanks... I''ve been working really hard. I can''t wait to get the third tomoe so my eyes will be like yours." Narumi replied happily.


    "Soon. At the rate you''re going it won''t be that long." Shisui stated honestly.


    "Thanks." Narumi replied as she smiled.


    Shisui couldn''t help but smile at his surrogate sister. She was progressing so quickly, and she wasn''t nearly as violent as she had been when they first met. It seemed that by associating with people, she was finally starting to trust others and come out of her shell.


    When she wasn''t so reserved and shy, Narumi had a bright and bubbly personality. She was fun and playful, a mirror image of her twin sister. He knew her well enough to know that despite her ever-growing displeasure for her family, she still had a soft spot for her sister. Of all the pain she felt in regard to her parents, it was her collapsing relationship with Naruko that seemed to bother her the most. He understood why that was, strip away the doom and gloom and Narumi could be the mirror image of her sister. They seemed to be a lot alike, from what little he''d seen of Naruko Namikaze, and that''s probably why their strained relationship bother Narumi so much.


    He wished there was something he could do to fix it. Maybe there was. He didn''t know the full extent of the problems that she had going on at home, but he suspected a part of the reason for the Fourth Hokage being so moody and angry around had to do with a certain something going on between the Leaf and the Uchiha. Shisui had a plan though. He needed to speak with Itachi first, get his opinion on it. Perhaps by revealing that the Fourth Hokage himself was an Uchiha that might shock both sides long enough to bring them back to the negotiating table so they could work through this issue. If that helped relieve the Hokage, then perhaps things at home would improve for Narumi. He hoped for it. It may have been a fool''s hope, but he cared for her. Loved her like a sister, and he wanted the best for her.


    "Hey, brat... I''ve got a mission tomorrow, but once it''s finished how would you like it if I took you to the Uchiha compound to meet the rest of the clan? Itachi''s got a little brother your age, I''m sure you two would like each other." Shisui offered.


    "What? Really?" Narumi asked, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of having yet another friend.


    "Really. I''ll take you there as soon as I get back." Shisui said as the little girl cheered with excitement.


    "Thanks so much Shisui. You''re the best!" She cheered as she ran up and hugged him. After a moment she pulled away and blushed, obviously embarrassed by her sudden outburst. It had been the first time she''d done something like that, the first person she''d hugged who wasn''t Naruko, and she couldn''t remember the last time she''d shared a hug with her twin sister. Probably two or three years. Stretching to the furthest reaches of her memory.


    "Ha... you just wait until I get back, I''m sure the rest of the clan will be happy to meet an awesome girl like you." Shisui stated with a warm smile as he patted her on the head, causing her to blush again at the compliment.


    "You know if I ever had a sister, I''d want her to be just like you. You''re a good girl Narumi. Don''t let anyone tell you differently." Shisui told her as he gave her a hug of his own.


    "Shisui... You''re my best friend. I want you to know that." Narumi said to him as she hugged him tighter.


    "I do... it makes me really happy to have a friend like you Narumi. You keep up the hard work, I''ll see you when I get back." Shisui replied trying his absolute damnedest to remain manly and cool, and not break into tears. After another moment the two parted and offered each other bright smiles. He had to go now and see this problem between the Leaf and the Uchiha dealt with. Through her, he may have unearthed a third option for them to try. He''d talk with Itachi about it later when they met. Regardless of which direction they chose, he''d do what needed to be done to stop this growing threat. He had more reasons than ever to keep the village safe and stable. He had a little sister to look after now, and he''d be damned if he let anything happen to her.


    With a final smile, Shisui said his goodbyes and headed off. Narumi watched him leave with a happy smile. She would be counting the days until he returned, she couldn''t be more excited.


    -Five days later-


    Narumi sat in a tree at her usual training ground, it had been more than a few days since Shisui had left and naturally the girl was getting impatient. She couldn''t wait until he returned. She hadn''t gone this long without seeing him since they first met, and the loneliness was beginning to creep back in. Thankfully she had Madara to keep her company, as she asked him for stories about his own childhood, his family, his brothers, the fighting, the conflicts, meeting Hashirama Senju when they were still both kids.


    It filled her time and made the loneliness bearable as she waited for her friend to return.


    "Narumi!" A voice called out to her. Narumi immediately shot up and jumped out into the field, expecting Shisui to be there. Instead, she found Kakashi waiting for her.


    "Narumi... there you are, I''ve been looking for you." Kakashi stated.


    "Kakashi? What are you doing here?" Narumi asked, not at all unhappy to see him. Since she hadn''t gone home in months, she hadn''t seen Kakashi as often as she used to, so she was happy to get whatever chance she could to see him.


    "I was looking for you. I wanted to see how you were doing." Kakashi replied, he obviously wasn''t in a good mood, if the inflection of his voice was any determining factor.


    "I''m fine. Just waiting for Shisui to come home from his mission." Narumi replied.


    "Waiting for Shisui...? Wait, has no one told you what happened?" Kakashi questioned as his eye suddenly fell to the ground.


    "What do you mean?" Narumi asked curiously not liking the way Kakashi was acting.


    ''Don''t tell me!'' Madara swore in her mind, reading the situation through her eyes.


    "I''m so sorry Narumi... Shisui was found dead a few days ago." Kakashi told her as he finally locked eyes with her.


    "... What...?" Narumi asked as her whole world suddenly came crashing down.


    "I''m sorry Narumi. His body was found in the lake. It looks like suicide." Kakashi informed her, sorrow was evident in his voice.


    "He''s dead? No! No! How can he be dead? I just saw him a few days ago... how?" Narumi felt tears begin to roll down her cheeks and her eyes suddenly began to burn.


    "I don''t know what to say. It surprised us all. I''ve known Shisui for years. Suicide... it just never seemed like his style. I''m so sorry Narumi I know how much he meant to you. I thought you''d been told. Had I known I would have come by sooner." Kakashi stated, as he took a step towards her, and placed his hands on her shoulders.


    Narumi let out a growl as she shook his hands off and stormed away, stopping several feet from Kakashi.


    "No. Shisui... Why? Suicide? Why would you do this? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME, SHISUI?! DAMMIT! DAMN YOU!" Narumi screamed as she dropped to her knees, tears fell freely from her eyes, and her chest started to hurt. She kept replaying the last thing he said to her.


    ''I''ll see you when I get back.''


    Those words. Why? Why would he lie like that? That''s all she could think about. Why would he say that, and then kill himself?


    "Damn it! Damn it all! Shisui... YOU GODDAMN FUCKING LIAR!" Narumi shouted, rage and sorrow evident in her voice.


    Narumi shot to her feet, her hands flying to her head, as her eyes once again throbbed in pain.


    "Narum..." Kakashi tried to say but was cut off when Narumi let out an ear shattering scream. Kakashi had to cover his ears, her scream of sorrow and rage was so loud, it was unlike anything he''d felt before. This scream was filled with magic. Raw, undiluted magic.


    He felt the ground rumble a bit, saw small pebbles lift into the air. He saw the air around her distort and shift, almost as if the space around her was bending and twisting in accordance with her pain.


    Narumi''s hands were now both clutching her face, covering her eyes. She was still screaming, at the top of her lungs, the sorrow in that scream, the sadness, and rage, it tore into Kakashi''s soul, it was a sound he would gladly kill himself to never hear again.


    From within her, Madara observed the event, not quite sure what to make of it. For a moment, he expected her to reawaken her Rinnegan, the power that tore out from around her was enough to make him think it so.


    Flashes of her time with Shisui shot through Narumi''s mind, as she felt her heart break more and more, every time she remembered him smiling at her, or complimenting her. "Shisui... why would you do this to me? I thought... If it hurt so much... if you were hurting, why didn''t you come to me? Why did you have to kill yourself? Why? How could I let this happen?!" Narumi shouted; her eyes felt like they were on fire.


    "''It makes me really happy to have a friend like you.''" She remembered him say.


    "Why Shisui? Why would you say that if you were in so much pain? How could you do this to me! Why would you leave me?" Narumi cried.


    Kakashi wanted so badly to wrap his arms around her. To hold her tight and try to alleviate some of her pain. This girl was like a sister to him, he''d known her since the day he was born, and now he couldn''t even get close enough to console her, all he could do was stare at the immense power she was letting off, with amazement and fear.


    ''Narumi... I know it hurts... but before you do anything rash, save your friend first." Madara ordered. His words broke through to her, allowing her focus to return.


    Narumi glanced over her shoulder at Kakashi, she found him still standing there, watching her with concern, and worry.


    Kakashi watched as everything settled down. He watched as the air returned to normal, and the floating pebbles fell back to the ground. Narumi''s screaming had stopped, and he could see her looking at him.


    "Narumi?" Kakashi asked taking a careful step towards her.


    "Kakashi... Just go... I need to be alone. I need to vent. I don''t want you to get hurt. Please." Narumi said, her eyes slightly obscured by her hair.


    "Narumi, I don''t think..." He began to reply but froze when he caught sight of her eyes. While he couldn''t see her eyes completely, he could see a bright red glow coming from behind her hair, and knowing what she was, he knew what that glow meant.


    "Could that be...? That''s impossible! She only has its soul. It can''t be the cause of this." Kakashi thought to himself in a moment of panic.


    "Be sure to tell the Hokage not to send anyone here for a little while. If one of his lackies shows up to try and boss me around, I''ll kill them." Narumi told him as he backed away, the menace in her voice was unlike anything he''d ever heard from her before. He felt his stomach sink, recognizing in that moment that something irreparable had been broken in her.


    "Please don''t hurt yourself." Kakashi thought as he finally Shunshined away. He needed to go and report what he''d seen to the Hokage, as much as he loathed the idea of involving his former sensei at the moment, the idea that the seal had been disrupted enough to allow some of the Fox''s power to manifest was something he just had to bring to his attention.


    "Grandfather... give me something to help me sleep. I just wanna pass out from exhaustion. I can''t... I don''t wanna deal with this anymore." Narumi begged of her grandparent.


    ''Okay, copy this.'' Madara ordered, and suddenly Narumi saw hand signs flash through her mind, her Sharingan easily copied the technique, and she quickly spun away from the direction Kakashi had left in and sped through about forty hand signs.


    "Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"


    Kakashi was about two hundred yards off when suddenly a wall of fire one hundred feet high shot into the air. It raced across the whole field and turned the place into scorched glass.


    He stopped his retreat and turned his gaze back towards the event, watching in astonished disbelief.


    Shinobi all over the Leaf felt or saw the wall of fire at one of the training fields. Whatever that technique was, it was definitely of much higher rank than what was usually practiced in the village.


    Minato spun around in his chair and looked out the window of his office. He could see clear as day, a wall of fire that stood tall above the tree line at one of the training grounds. For some reason seeing that jutsu gave Minato the strangest feeling of deja vu.


    Anbu arrived at the field a few minutes later to find it deserted. There was no one around that could be seen or felt. The Anbu, quickly set to work putting the fire out, it was a daunting task, but they had to get the fire under control before it spread.


    Elsewhere Narumi pulled herself away from the field, intent on finding her way to the place she''d called home so she could collapse into bed and fall into a hopefully dreamless sleep.


    -Later-


    Narumi had started living in an old warn out apartment building that was pretty much vacant a couple of weeks back, and aside from the roaches and occasional leaking it wasn''t that bad, though it was dark, and dank, and it made her loneliness worse, she didn''t like spending time there. She made in there with just enough energy left to take off her shoes before collapsing into the bed and falling asleep. Unfortunately, her dreams were filled with nightmares, and she awoke with fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. Much to her dismay, this particular nightmare was actually reality, and it was now missing the one person she had come to love most.


    "What is wrong with my eyes?" Narumi tiredly asked as she stared at her reflection in a mirror.


    ''I''m sorry child... you have awakened our cursed eyes second state... the Mangekyou.'' Madara replied.


    "Ah... I see." Narumi stated as she glanced at her new eye design, normally she would be excited to learn about her new eyes but right now she could only feel anger, sadness, and apathy.


    Narumi did take note of her Mangekyou''s design, it was a black three-sided star. One was right-side up, the other upside down.


    ''Narumi... I need you to do something for me.'' Madara said to her.


    "I''m not in the mood grandfather." Narumi replied as she wandered over to her bed and sat down.


    ''I know, just please do this for me. I will not allow you to go blind from using those eyes. Follow my instructions, please.'' Madara asked of her.


    "Fine. What?" Narumi responded, after letting out a tired sigh.


    ''Use the summoning jutsu, but when you use it, think the name Zetsu.'' Madara told her, feeding an image of a strange half black, half white, green haired man into her mind.


    "Whatever." Narumi said as she did as she was told.


    Narumi bit her thumb and flashed through the necessary handsigns and slammed her palm into the ground. A moment passed as the seal characters appeared, when suddenly a poof of smoke occurred, and when it cleared, that same strange looking man/plant/creature was there.


    "What, what are you?" Narumi gasped in surprise as she finally rationalized the strange creature.


    "Me? You''re the one who summoned me! Who are you, and how do you know us?" Zetsu asked as he shot forward and grabbed the girl intent on squeezing the information out of her. He stopped however when his chakra made contact with hers and a very familiar voice shouted for him to stop.


    "Master Madara... is that you?" Zetsu asked aloud, shock present on his face.


    ''Yes Zetsu... I need to explain a few things, and then I need you to do some things for me.'' Madara replied.


    "Anything master." Zetsu replied as he released Narumi from his clutches.


    From there, Madara spent the next hour explaining who Narumi was, and what had happened in the years since her birth. Zetsu listened intently, and in turn told Madara what Obito was up too. Madara had very little clue about the Moon Eye plan, as the piece of himself that he put in Minato, had been placed there years before Madara had met Obito. Memories from after that moment were fuzzy and disjointed. Madara guessed his older self-had slipped into the Curse of Hatred after his son went missing. It was only because he was in Narumi, did this Madara even know that Minato was his long-lost son, considering the man looked nothing like him anymore.


    Narumi sat quietly as she listened to this all. Learning about her grandfather''s apprentice and his role in the Nine Tails attack which was the cause of much of her misery, was a souring revelation. She didn''t blame her grandfather for it, at least, not the disembodied voice within her. Most of the blame she placed upon this Obito Uchiha who had carried out the attack and was the reason a demon was now sealed within her.


    Eventually Madara explained what had happened recently.


    "That is sad, young mistress. I am sorry about your friend." Zetsu offered his sympathy.


    "Thanks." Narumi replied bitterly, though her mind was currently plotting Obito''s death for loosing the fox upon the village. She held no great love for the Hidden Leaf, but it didn''t escape her notice that much of the hate directed towards her, came because of what she held within her.


    One thing did throw her for a loop, when Madara explained what really happened when Voldemort came to kill her and her sister.


    "So, I''m the real Girl-Who-Lived?" Narumi asked.


    ''Yes. Wielding the powers of the mighty Rinnegan you were able to deflect his Killing Curse back at him. An accident I''m sure yet the results cannot be denied.'' Madara responded proudly.


    "What''s the Rinnegan?" She asked, while at the same time a voice from the darkened half of Zetsu spoke up for the first time.


    "This girl has the Rinnegan?" It questioned in disbelief.


    "Yes, she does. As for what it is Narumi, the Rinnegan is a Dojutsu out of legend. Said to be the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths. Those eyes possess colossal power, far outweighing the abilities of the Sharingan. You were able to activate in order to save your life, though it has remained dormant ever since. One day, when you''re older, we''ll work to awaken those eyes for good, but until such a time, I''d focus more on your newly awakened Mangekyou Sharingan." Madara explained to her. Narumi gave a nod of acceptance, though she was curious to hear more when time permitted.


    "So, what do you need me to do now master?" Zetsu asked.


    ''I want you to get me my old eyes and bring them here. I want you to transplant them into her. We''re directly related so she''ll be compatible. And then I want you to return to Obito, you''ll tell him nothing that happened here, and you will report on his movements. He has to come for the fox spirit, and when he does, she is going to kill him.'' Madara ordered him.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "You''re giving up on the Moon eye plan?" Zetsu asked, with a bit of shock.


    ''Yes... I lay all of my hope for the future in this child... I''ve seen what she is capable of achieving. I know that she''ll build a better world. Besides, she has me to help her.'' Madara replied, and even though he didn''t have a body, Narumi could tell he was smirking.


    "Very well master, if that is your desire than I think you should know that Obito is planning something here in the village." Zetsu said to him.


    "Oh? And what might that be?" Madara questioned.


    "He intends to aid Itachi Uchiha in some sort of plot. I''m not sure what it is, but something is going to happen here soon. Itachi approached him the other day, and he agreed to help him. I''m not sure what the two are planning but I thought you''d want to know." Zetsu explained to him.


    "I see. That''s odd. I wonder what those boys could be up too." Madara hummed in thought.


    "Itachi is working alongside that bastard? Why the hell would he do that? Does he know who that man really is, what he''s done? What are they planning on doing in the village?" Narumi questioned mentally. She had to take a moment and wonder how Itachi was faring after the death of Shisui. It was something the both of them had in common, they both loved Shisui and cared for him like a brother. Now he was getting mixed up with Obito? She had to speak with Itachi when she got the chance, she couldn''t lose two of her closest friends.


    "I will return once I have what I need for the transplant. Please wait for me here, I will return soon." Zetsu said to her as he began sinking into the ground.


    ''Why does he need to transplant my eyes with yours, grandfather?'' Narumi asked.


    Madara began explaining to her how the Mangekyou worked, about how each eye carried a unique power and if she mastered both powers, she would awaken a third even greater power, but with each use of the powers in either eye, the eye itself would begin to lose its sight, meaning by the time you mastered both powers and awakened the third, you''d be nearly blind and only get a handful of uses out of the third power before losing your sight completely. By transferring the eyes of another compatible Mangekyou Sharingan you could gain everlasting light, meaning you could use the powers without losing your sight. It also lowered the chakra requirement for those powers by around twenty-five percent, meaning you could use them more often.


    About three hours later Zetsu returned with two boxes, one small and one large. The large one held medical supplies, while the other held a jar that had two floating Sharingan eyes in it. These were the eyes that Madara had transferred from his own brother before his death. Technically speaking they were Izuna Uchiha''s eyes, but they''d been with Madara far longer than they''d been with Izuna.


    ''Are you ready?'' Madara asked.


    "Sure. I''ll need this power in order to deal with your wayward apprentice if he comes calling." Narumi replied.


    "I''ll also need this power to sever the ties I have to this damn village. I don''t know what it was that led to Shisui''s suicide, but having felt that terrible call of the void, I can guess that it''s this godawful place." Narumi thought to herself, though she did hear a hum of agreement and approval from Madara.


    "I can only imagine what Shisui was going through. Being an ANBU, it must have drained his psyche until there was nothing left. This place has that effect on people. Everything has to be for the village, there''s no hope for individuals to thrive. He was a renowned shinobi, he''d even earned his own moniker, and yet this place took everything out of him until there was nothing left. The Hokage, the Council, the Elders, they take, and they take, and it must have driven him over the edge." Narumi continued on, her thoughts turning dark as she imagined just what could have led to her friend''s suicide.


    "There is truth to your words. I cannot say for certain, but I do agree that he had a promising future. To willingly throw it away, he must have been driven to the extreme." Madara offered up.


    Before they could continue their conversation, Zetsu spoke. "Alright let''s begin. You''ll need to keep your eyes covered for a few days when I''m done. I won''t be here when you wake up, young mistress." Zetsu told her as he flashed through some handsigns, and suddenly Narumi fell asleep.


    A couple of hours later Zetsu finished wrapping up Narumi''s head.


    He then placed a hand on her head and channeled his chakra into her.


    ''Master. I''m finished. What would you have me do with her eyes?'' Zetsu asked.


    ''Put them into a storage scroll, and seal them into her body, in case we need them.'' Madara replied.


    Zetsu nodded and did just that. When finished, he cleaned up and promptly left, leaving no trace of himself behind.


    -A few days later-


    Narumi wandered through the village. She could only just barely see through the cloth around her eyes. People took notice and whispered of her condition. Some were happy to see her in such a state, some were curious, while others were worried. An ominous air hung over her, and beneath the cloth a dim red glow could sometimes be seen. She was quick to retaliate when anyone tried anything. A few kids, eager to get back at her for beating them senseless for an earlier transgression tried to jump her, she left those three boys a beaten heap on the floor. A passing Chuunin came to investigate their cries of pain and confronted her. When he grabbed her, she quickly grappled with him and drove a fist into his throat which sent him to his knees gasping. She then kicked him in the side of the head, knocking him unconscious before he could recover. He''d later wake up, dazed and with an extremely sore neck.


    Narumi hadn''t spoken to anyone in the past few days. She hadn''t seen Kakashi, or Remus, though she knew both of them were looking for her. She hadn''t gone to Ichiraku''s either. All she wanted to do was wallow in her sadness. Madara didn''t comment on it. In his opinion, her reaction, sadness, depression and apathy, were better than his own, when in a similar situation years ago.


    "...Just you wait. We''ll find proof and when we do. That bastard is dead." Narumi heard an angry voice from just around the corner of where she was.


    "I still can''t believe Itachi would do that. I mean they were best friends." Another voice stated, drawing Narumi''s attention.


    "Well believe it. You should have seen the look on his face when we confronted him, he''s obviously guilty. We''ll get proof, and then that boy is going down." Yet another voice added in.


    "Shisui will be avenged. That bastard Itachi wont escape justice for long." The first man spoke again. The three men''s voices were fading as they moved away. If they had stayed, they may have heard the light growling of their eavesdropper.


    "Itachi... you killed Shisui? Why?" Narumi growled, clenching her fists so hard it hurt.


    ''Sadly, the boy may have fallen to the curse of the Uchiha and killed Shisui to obtain the Mangekyou. If he''s working with Obito than he probably learned how from him.'' Madara offered his thoughts.


    "That son of a bitch!" Narumi said aloud. "Itachi! Itachi gods damn you!" The people around the area who noticed her outburst, felt their stomachs drop at the sight of her boiling with rage. Her face was twisted with fury as she digested this awful revelation.


    -Two days later-


    Narumi sat up in bed, today was the day to remove the cloth and begin training her eyes. She quickly went to the nearest mirror and prepared to remove the cloth.


    ''Now... my eyes were already at the stage of the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, plus I had Senju DNA in my body, so I have no clue what your Eternal Mangekyou will be like.'' Madara informed the girl as she removed the cloth.


    She slowly opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the light of the room. After a couple moments of squinting, her vision finally came into focus. She looked into her red eyes, and immediately noticed the new pattern, the three-sided star was still present but now there was a new pattern around the star. Madara told her that the new pattern was the same as his old EMS.


    It was essentially a three sides star, the ends of which connected to circles with tails trailing off of them connected each circle to the next. At the halfway point of the tail, a black bark connected it to the edge of the iris.


    "Hm... I like them... please grandfather, teach me how to control the power of these eyes." Narumi asked with a wild look in her eyes, as her new Sharingan glowed ominously.


    ''Of course, my girl. With this power, your dear cousin Itachi will fall before you.'' Madara replied with a vicious snarl, at the name of the man who had caused his grandchild so much pain.


    -Three days later-


    "I''m sorry Sasuke." Itachi stated sadly as he looked down at his little brother''s unconscious form.


    ''Time to go.'' Itachi decided as he turned to leave, when suddenly he caught a glint heading right for him. Itachi barely dodged as two kunai went flying by.


    ''What?'' Itachi thought as his eyes darted towards where the kunai had come from. His eyes widened in shock as they spotted his attacker. There, no more than twenty yards away, was Narumi Namikaze and from the twisted look of fury on her face, he could tell she meant business.


    "Itachi Uchiha! I came here intending to beat some fucking answers out of you, but guess what I find when I get here? That''s right, men, women, fucking children, all dead! A small part of me thought there might be a reason for you to do it... but this... fuck! You son of a bitch! I''ll kill you where you stand!" Narumi growled at him with so much hatred, it actually made Itachi sweat.


    It took a moment, but Itachi was able to regain his composure. Afterwards, he adopted a neutral expression as he focused all of his attention on her.


    "It was foolish of you to come here. The Uchiha were my only targets. Had you stayed out of this, I would have let you live." Itachi stated coolly. He didn''t like threatening her, it was too much like threatening his brother, it just made him feel wrong, but he knew he had to.


    "No, Itachi... it was foolish of you to remain in the village. Did you think I wouldn''t figure it out? Well, I did. I know you''re the one who killed him! And now... I''m gonna kill you!" Narumi bit out through gritted teeth.


    "So, you figured that out. I''m impressed. Not that it will do you any good now though." Itachi stated as he drew his sword. His Sharingan spun to life, and as it did it came upon a shocking sight. The three tomoe''d Sharingan was present in Narumi''s eyes as well, at his surprised expression she let a devilish grin cross her face.


    "Surprised? I''m guessing Shisui never got around to telling you about my Sharingan? I guess it doesn''t really matter. It''s not like it would have done you any good." Narumi through his words back at him.


    ''How is this possible? No! I can''t worry about that now. I need to worry about getting out of here. I have no idea what Shisui taught her in the last couple of weeks, and with a fully mature Sharingan, plus her massive stamina and reserves, she''ll stall me long enough to ruin my plans. I''m gonna have to use it, I only have one chance though, so I need to time it perfectly.'' Itachi thought as he launched his attack.


    Itachi raced at her at top speed, he brought his blade down to slice her chest, but Narumi deflected the blow with her Tanto, guiding it to her side, she then kicked out at him, forcing him backwards in order to avoid the attack. The two traded blade strikes for a moment, their eyes analyzing each other''s attacks, blocking every incoming blow.


    With a powerful slash, Itachi cracked her tanto, breaking the blade. She dodged the follow-up slash, dropping the broken blade to the ground. He charged her, and in a poof of smoke, she summoned her wakizashi, a lightning-fast strike from that blade, dislodged Itachi''s sword, sending in flying away. Now he was on the backpedal as she chased after him, slashing out at him, aiming for vital points like his thighs and neck.


    Itachi cursed as he avoided her flurry and jumped away from Narumi putting some distance between them. Her skills had grown a great deal these last few weeks. Thanks to his and Shisui''s tutelage she truly was turning into a splendid fighter.


    Thinking quickly, he hurled several shuriken at her, they hit her, but her body simply popped, due to a substitution.


    Itachi jumped away just as two balls of water slammed into his previous position. He spotted Narumi standing just down the street, so he quickly sped through some handsigns, it unnerved him to see Narumi copy his movements perfectly.


    They both shouted, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"


    Both exhaled and suddenly two enormous Fireballs appeared and slammed into each other, the two were equal in strength, and therefore the two giant fireballs held in place.


    The twin jutsu remained deadlocked for several long moments, the blistering heat igniting the wooden buildings on either side of the street.


    Knowing that it was foolish to try and beat her in a duel of raw chakra, Itachi was the first to break off the attack, he retreated, jumping to a roof to avoid as her fireball went sailing past his previous position to slam violently into a shop at the end of the street exploding and igniting the structure.


    He noticed on the ground that the attack had just barely missed Sasuke''s unconscious form. He could see the light blistering of red beginning to spread along one of his exposed legs that had been closest to the fireball.


    Cursing, he moved quickly, dropping down to the street to grab Sasuke and move him to cover as Narumi advanced through the dust kicked up by their jutsu.


    He dropped Sasuke in a back alley and moved to confront Narumi again.


    She was quickly on him, she dove at him with her wakizashi, he swiftly drew a kunai, deflecting her incoming attacks, keeping at bay for just long enough to launch his plan into action.


    "You''ve grown... but you still don''t possess the power to beat me." Itachi said with a smile as his Mangekyou spun to life in his eyes. He instantly locked eyes with Narumi "Tsukuyomi."


    "You''ve lost Narumi. This is the world of Tsukuyomi, here I am god." Itachi boasted as he prepared for her torture.


    "He was right. So, you killed Shisui to get these eyes, ay Itachi? They won''t help you, you bastard!" Narumi replied as her Eternal Mangekyou spun to life in her eyes.


    "Damn!" Itachi muttered as pain shot through his eyes, he quickly realized the pain had come from Narumi''s superior eyes, shattering his genjutsu.


    "Shisui... his death meant that much to you, Narumi?" Itachi thought, as he quickly realized just where she had gained such eyes. "I''m so sorry..."


    Itachi didn''t have much time to contemplate how she had the Mangekyou because he was suddenly and violently punched by a skeletal fist that was bigger than him. This fist was a deep blue in color with specks of dark red floating in places.


    Itachi knew immediately what this hand was. Narumi not only had the Mangekyou, but she could also use Susanoo, meaning she had already learned and mastered the powers contained within both of her eyes. Her ability to break the Tsukuyomi meant that she had at least as much, if not more experience in using these eyes, then he did. If she truly had awakened her eyes due to Shisui''s death than they''d gained them around the same time, though unlike him who had to hide it, she no doubt spent every moment since then, training. It made sense. To awaken the Susanoo, she had to have mastered the powers in her eyes, unfortunately with the use of Tsukuyomi she now knew one of the powers he possessed. Without knowing what powers her Sharingan possessed, and without the desire to truly kill her, there was no point in attempting to use the other power of his Mangekyou.


    "Damn..." Itachi muttered again as he began coughing up blood. He had been knocked back about fifty feet, and he had slammed into a light post. He was now in a similar situation as Shisui had been a few months back.


    He internally berated himself for falling for the same blunder that Shisui had. He had underestimated her. A mistake that he hadn''t thought possible considering, unlike others, he actually knew she was far stronger than she appeared. Still, he had allowed himself to doubt her skill, and it had potentially cost him dearly. The moment he saw her Sharingan, he should have anticipated the appearance of the Mangekyou due to her affection for Shisui, and how his loss had no doubt affected her.


    It was a mistake on his part, one he could not repeat, if he wished to survive. He hadn''t been anywhere near full strength when this fight began, and she had come prepared to face him. He had spent a long night slaughtering his clansmen, a half-dozen battles had left him weary and exhausted. Using Tsukuyomi three times this night, had also greatly diminished his chakra supply. He was most certainly in a bad position.


    Itachi took a moment to collect his breath before glancing up. His eyes widened with unease, as he saw Narumi walking towards him, Mangekyou alight in her eyes, her body encased in Susanoo. The unholy skeletal monster, with its glowing yellow eyes, the sight of it, made Itachi suddenly fearful for his life.


    All he could do was watch as she got closer, once she was close enough one of Susanoo''s Arms raised into the air, and a long blue blade materialized in it. Itachi knew that when she swung it, he would meet his end.


    As that thought went through his head, he suddenly remembered his little brother, he spun around and realized that he was sitting right in front of the alley he had left Sasuke in.


    "Shit!" Itachi thought as he dove back and grabbed Sasuke, he only had enough time to pick him up before the blade fell on the two of them. An explosion raced out from the impact of the sword and everything in front of Narumi for at least thirty yards was blown away.


    "Finally. You''ve been avenged, Shisui." Narumi muttered coldly, her eyes beginning to bleed from her use of the Susanoo. It would be some time before she was proficient with such powers, even with Madara''s aid. Still though, these eyes had given her the edge she needed to take on Itachi.


    "That wasn''t very nice." A voice that sounded exactly like her grandfather spoke from the cloud of dust.


    A moment passed and she quickly spotted two figures. She noticed a tall man wearing an orange mask with a flame design on it. He had only one eye hole, and she could see the Sharingan staring at her menacingly.


    The masked man had his hand on the shoulder of one very alive Itachi Uchiha, in his arms was a likewise unhurt Sasuke.


    "I was wondering what had taken you so long. I see you were caught up playing with Minato''s spawn." The masked man stated, sounding amused.


    "You really pushed that rescue Madara. A moment later and our partnership would be over." Itachi stated, just loud enough for Narumi to hear him.


    "Sorry. I have a thing for the dramatic." ''Madara'' replied, with a dry chuckle.


    "So, it''s you." Narumi stated her teeth clenching in further anger, as muscle began to grow and encase the Susanoo.


    "Oh? Do you know me?" The Masked Man inquired.


    "I know you. You''re the one who unleashed the Nine Tails on the village all those years ago." Narumi snarled at him.


    "Ah, you know about that? Interesting, I didn''t think the Fourth Hokage would be so vocal about what happened that night, least of all around his wayward daughter." The man said, his own Sharingan visible in the darkness of his mask''s eye hole.


    "I know what you plan to do! I will stop you!" She snarled at him with hellish malice.


    "You do, do you? We''ll just see about that." He spoke before rushing at her. Itachi''s eyes widened in surprise, but before he could react, the Masked Man had crossed the distance and was rushing into her Susanoo. Much to Itachi''s surprise, he passed through the outer layer of the ethereal chakra construct like it wasn''t even there. His hand reached out, intent on grabbing Narumi.


    Her eyes widened and she moved backwards, but the Masked Man was too quick. His hand closed in on her, aiming to seize her by the neck, she stabbed forward with her blade, intent on spearing him through the stomach. Her attack phased through him without injury, but much to his sudden disbelief, his hand did much the same.


    His arm, which was visibly passing through her neck, seemed to react as if she wasn''t actually there.


    "No that''s! She has the same power! Shit!" Obito Uchiha realized as he swung a kick at her, watching helplessly as it passed clean through her body.


    Jumping back and out of her Sunanoo, he landed beside Itachi.


    Itachi stared in disbelief, not quite sure what he was seeing. Somehow both of their attacks had passed through one another without injury.


    He could see blood visibly pouring from her right eye, her face remaining twisted with anger, though a cruel smile did begin to touch at her lips.


    "That''s right... I have it too." She growled boastfully at them. Itachi was sure the Masked Man knew exactly what she meant.


    "Well, aren''t you special." Obito growled at her.


    "Madara... go, I''ll deal with her. The ANBU Black Ops will be here soon, so you best make your escape." Itachi told the man as he placed Sasuke on the ground and began to advance towards Narumi.


    "If you think you''re up to the task so, be it. You know where to find me when it''s all over. Later." Obito spoke before vanishing in a poof of smoke.


    Narumi let out a growl but focused her attention back onto Itachi.


    "You''ve grown so much Narumi. I could never have imagined you''d be this strong so quickly." Itachi said to her, dropping the facade of anger and cruelty, speaking to her with fondness.


    "You say that like it''s something to be proud of. I''m going to kill you for what you did to Shisui!" She snapped at him.


    "You loved him, just as I did. It breaks my heart to see those same eyes reflected in you, though it does warm my heart a bit to know that someone else held him to equal regard as I did." Itachi spoke, causing Narumi to blink in confusion, not quite sure what he was playing at with this nice guy routine.


    "Shisui was attacked Narumi, by an unknown enemy force. I believe they were Leaf ANBU Black Ops, under the control of a man named Danzo Shimura, one of the Leaf Elders. He was fatally poisoned. He made his way to me and gifted me something before throwing himself from the cliff and into the lake. He did so, so that I might awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan and use its powers to complete our mission.


    Narumi''s eyes widened at that; she blinked several times as she registered his words.


    "You, you didn''t kill him? He was poisoned. Poisoned by Leaf ANBU? Why?!" She demanded.


    "It was either to stop his plan from succeeding, or an attempt to seize his own Mangekyou which was imbued with an incredible power. Shisui possessed the power to control the perceptions of others with his Sharingan, he could implant ideas into their minds, make them think what he wanted them to think, and never allow them to recognize that the ideas were not their own. It could be one, or both possibilities. Either way, it was enough to try and ambush him." Itachi explained to her.


    "What was he planning, what did this Danzo guy want to stop?" She asked him.


    "It''s a long story. The short version is that for a while now hostilities have been growing between the Uchiha and the Hidden Leaf Government. The Uchiha have been mistreated for a long time due to their perceived role in the Nine Tails attack, of which you just confirmed that an Uchiha was involved, just not a member of the clan. The Clan grew fed up with the treatment and began planning a coup. Shisui intended to use his powers to manipulate the clan leaders into ending their plots without violence, but he was attacked before he could do it. Without Shisui the only option left was to stop the Uchiha before they could carry out their plan." Itachi explained to her, causing her eyes to widen in disbelief.


    "So, they sent you? To murder your own family?! Your parents, your cousins, men women and children!" Narumi uttered in angered disbelief.


    "I tried to spare the children. I knew they had no involvement in the plot, but the Masked Man had other ideas. I needed his help to pull this off. I lacked the power to defeat all of the Uchiha in battle, and I seriously doubted my abilities to defeat my own father. Some say he was as strong and as dangerous as the Fourth Hokage. Thankfully it didn''t come to that. Still, what happened here was a tragedy, a curse that I will bear myself. I must leave this place now, Narumi. My path takes me from this place. I needed you to know, before I left. Needed you to know the truth and accept something." He said to her as he drew a scroll, from it, a crow emerged which flew through the air before heading over to Narumi to land on her shoulder.


    "A crow?" She questioned before spotting the Mangekyou Sharingan in one of its eyes. It didn''t look like Itachi''s though, and she felt her stomach sink as she realized just who the eye belonged too.


    "I think he intended for you to have it. He said I''d know who it was for. His use of who rather than what, told me that I was meant to be its courier. I know you''ll treat it with respect and honor his memory with it. Despite that, that eye is the last living piece of our beloved friend in this world. Please take good care of it." Itachi said to her. She felt tears build in her eyes as she met the gaze of the crow. Despite having never seen Shisui''s Mangekyou she did not doubt for a second that this was his eye. In it, she saw him, she saw him so clearly, that for a moment, it felt like he was with her again.


    More tears fell from her eyes, as she turned her attention back to Itachi.


    "Where will you go?" She asked him.


    "Madara has offered me a place in an organization he''s building. I intend to go there. Despite my grievances, there are still things in this village that I need to protect." Itachi spoke, his eyes flickering to Sasuke''s unconscious form.


    "I see... Itachi... be careful. That man... he''s not Madara Uchiha. He''s Madara''s apprentice. A man named Obito, the Fourth Hokage''s former student, Kakashi''s old squadmate." Narumi said to him.


    "Is he? How do you know that?" He questioned her.


    "It''s too much to explain right now. Just trust me. Be careful around him. He plans on destroying the world." She said to him. Itachi met her gaze for a long moment before nodding.


    "Thank you, take care of yourself Narumi. I''m certain we''ll meet again one day." Itachi offered to her with a warm smile.


    "I hope so. Take care." Narumi said to him.


    Itachi nodded and with a swift movement, leaped into the air. She felt her vision blur as she watched him go.


    "We should retreat for now. If this was all planned than the ANBU will give Itachi time to flee, so we should use that time to slip away before they notice us." Madara suggested to her.


    "Right." She nodded and turned to leave, her Susanoo having long dissipated.


    She stopped for a moment and turned her eyes back towards Sasuke.


    "Over eighty people in this clan, and yet you were the one he couldn''t bear to lose. A brother around my age... You''re the one that Shisui meant. Damn... it would have been nice to get to know you. This fucking village... I hate it so much. Shisui... why did you have to die for it? Danzo Shimura... One day... one day we''ll meet, and I''ll get my revenge. I can''t stay here though. This village will only hold me back. It''s time I left." With her finally thought she vanished into the night, leaving the Uchiha compound behind.


    Armed with a new understanding of the situation surrounding Shisui''s death, she gained a newfound hatred for the village and for Obito. One day, she''d get her revenge on everyone who had a hand in his death. For now, she needed to plan her escape.


    -Elsewhere in the Forest-


    Obito Uchiha sat in silence as he pondered this recent development.


    Minato''s oldest child had proven to be something far more dangerous than he could have ever imagined. He knew now, without a doubt that he''d been right. That girl, she was definitely ''her'' daughter. He''d always suspected his former teacher of something nefarious, when he chose those two girls to become the Jinchuriki to the Nine Tails, and now he knew without a doubt that he''d been right. For behind the blazing intensity of her Sharingan he saw the same cruel hyper-focused look of her father.


    "My, Minato, how scandalous. I wonder... does she know that too? No... No you''d never let that dirty little secret out. Perhaps there''s a way to salvage this. She does possess Kamui after all. That alone means that one day she''ll be as deadly as I am. I must proceed with caution." He thought before letting out a dark chuckle and rising to his feet.


    With a hum of consideration, he turned and departed deeper into the darkness of the forest, his time here in the Hidden Leaf, having come to an end for now.


    -To Be Continued-

 I am no Longer Yours

    Broken Angel


    Chapter 4: I Am No Longer Yours


    "How''s she doing?" Remus asked as he strode up to Kakashi.


    Kakashi stood at the edge of a tree line, watching Narumi in the field about fifty yards away.


    "She angry. I''ve never seen her like this before" was Kakashi''s reply.


    Remus only scowled in response, as he laid eyes on his niece in all but blood.


    She sat meditating in the center of a training field, the wind was blowing quite rapidly around her, and just looking at the scene made the wolf within him growl with agitation.


    "I assume you aren''t alone here?" Remus asked.


    "No. A squad of ANBU is keeping an eye on her. Traces of her chakra were found at the Uchiha Compound following the massacre, the Hokage wanted to know what she was doing there, the response he got was... not expected." Kakashi responded, recalling the growls of the investigators as they tried to question her. They spat their questions at her, demanding to know what she''d been doing there and when, and if she had any knowledge of Itachi''s actions surrounding the murder of nearly the whole Uchiha clan.


    Her response was visceral, when they pressed her buttons, she pressed right back. In a blitz of movement, she shot forward and rammed her whole body into the gut of the lead investigator, knocking the wind out of him and sending him tumbling backwards gasping for air. The other two shouted in surprise, one even drawing a kunai knife to defend himself. According to the man, the last thing he saw before everything went black was blazing red eyes. The last man, panicked and turned to run when he saw his companion collapse like a puppet with the strings cut. He made it only a few feet before a shuriken impaled itself into his lower leg, dropping him to a knee with a gasp and a curse.


    Narumi was on him in a moment, her little body pouncing on him, driving her fists into his face and a flurry of surprisingly violent and powerful blows. The man tried to defend himself, but her hammering blows eventually broke through his guard and hammered at his face. She didn''t relent until his face was a bloody mess.


    Her fury didn''t abate however, and in the next moment she rushed over to the lead investigator who was still gasping for air and pounced on him. She rained blows down on his face too until her hands were bloody.


    Kakashi had been watching from a distance, hardly believing his eyes as the eight-year-old dropped three seasoned Chuunin. She growled like an animal as she continued to hammer the man''s face, only stopping once Kakashi regained his senses and crossed the field to pull her off the man.


    She snarled and cursed at him, as he hauled her aside and then went to check on his fallen comrades. One was completely unharmed just knocked unconscious with genjutsu, though the other two were seriously injured. Cracked skulls and missing teeth, a testament to the violence of her angered flurry.


    Kakashi was deeply disturbed by this, and he tried to speak with her, but by the time he''d finished checking their injuries, she was gone, having run off somewhere.


    Afterwards, she was hauled into the Hokage''s office. After hearing the report about what had happened including the recounting from her victims, the Hokage was forced to put this long game of theirs to an end.


    The first thing he did was check the seal that contained the Nine Tails'' spirit. The idea of her having blood red eyes could mean only one thing, and after much cursing and resistance from Narumi she finally allowed him to check it, he found that it was reasonably damaged, much to his surprise, though upon investigation found the damage was older, not something recent. Little did he know that Narumi suspected the answer lay in the truth of what happened that fateful night all those years ago. Voldemort''s Killing Curse was likely what had damaged the seal, though it surprised her that this was the first time that Minato had noticed. Had he really never checked to make sure the seal was still intact all these years? Was he just that confidant of his work or was it simply that he didn''t care enough to do so. Either way, it both surprised and annoyed her to no end.


    After his examination, she had to sit there and listen to him berate her for her assault on his shinobi.


    Kakashi had been there, watching it all


    -Flashback-


    "Why did you react so aggressively to their questions Narumi?" Minato questioned her.


    "I didn''t like their tone, Hokage." She snapped back at him, not even pretending like she didn''t hate his guts.


    "What were you doing at the Uchiha compound?" He spoke, leaving no room for avoiding the question.


    "I heard a rumor that a certain somebody had killed my best friend, so I went to pay him a visit." She responded, an angry smirk spreading across her face.


    Minato blinked at that, as did Kakashi, and the other shinobi present who''d hauled her here.


    "Who are you talking about?" Minato asked.


    "Shisui. Shisui Uchiha. He was my friend. A little birdy told me that Itachi might have killed him, so I went there to confront him. All I found was dead bodies, so I left." Narumi growled back at him.


    "That was dangerous Narumi. What do you think Itachi would have done to you have you ran into him? He was a member of the ANBU Black Ops, confronting him would have only gotten you killed. This is your problem, always acting without thinking. Even disregarding the massacre, what do you think Itachi would have done to you if you''d confronted him with these accusations? Also, there''s something you''re not telling me. More than just a passing trace of your chakra was found there. You either spent a lot of time in the compound, or you were actively performing Ninjutsu there." Minato said to her, not buying her lie for a moment.


    Narumi''s smirk grew more irritated, and real anger danced in her eyes.


    "So maybe I did run into Itachi. We fought for a bit, and then he ran off." She offered with a rueful shrug. Her suggestion earned disbelief from the surrounding Shinobi, even Kakashi would have been hard pressed to believe she''d ran into Itachi during the massacre and fought him, and managed to not only survive but force his retreat, he would have been, had he not seen her effortlessly take down three Chuunin in only a handful of moments.


    "That''s impossible. He wiped out the entire Uchiha clan, and you''re saying you fought him to the point of him retreating?" One of the shinobi barked, finding the idea ridiculous.


    "Hey, I didn''t ask you to believe me. Call me a liar if you want. It doesn''t change the truth, and I couldn''t give less of a shit about any of your approval." Narumi threw a glare at the man in question, before returning her eyes to Minato.


    "Why didn''t you come and speak with me after confronting Itachi?" Minato demanded.


    "Fuck you." Narumi responded, earning genuine surprise from all present. Narumi was known for having a bit of a potty mouth but to openly curse at her father, the Hokage of all people, even Kakashi was taken aback by how forceful her rebuttal had been.


    Minato blinked at that, having rarely faced such disrespect during his time in office, he was momentarily left unable to find the right words to respond.


    "I went there to fight Itachi, and I did. Seeing as how the fight took place after he''d finished butchering his whole family, I''d argue he was a traitor to the village, and thus, not one of your shinobi, and seeing as how I''m not one of your shinobi either, I''d say it was none of your goddamn business." She said, again, not hiding her obvious disdain for her father.


    "You''re still my daughter, Narumi, and you''re a citizen of the Hidden Leaf. You should have come to me with your suspicions, you should have told me if you confronted Itachi." Sighing in that typical disappointed way of his, that always served to sadden his eldest daughter, though in this case, all it did was piss her off. "What happened? You confronted him and fought."


    "And that''s it. I confronted him, he confirmed it, we fought, he left. Anything else, or can I go?" She growled at him. Again, he let out a sigh of frustration, gathering that she intended to be obstinate.


    "Sensei, perhaps we should give her some time to unwind. A lot has happened recently, what with the death of her friend." Kakashi spoke up.


    For a moment, it looked like Minato was going to dismiss his concerns, but finally he waved his hand, signaling for her to leave as he turned away.


    She hopped to her feet and made her way for the door, Kakashi following close behind.


    "This tantrum is over Narumi. I expect you to be home tonight." Minato spoke up, staring out the window as he did. Narumi froze at the door, her hand outstretched for the handle. Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder, urging her to just go, but she wasn''t going to let that bastard get the last word.


    "Come and try." She threw over her shoulder challengingly before throwing the door open and storming out, missing Minato''s third and final sigh of annoyance.


    -Flashback ends-


    Following that confrontation, Kakashi took her to get some food, and had an actual chat with her, inquiring as to her wellbeing and about what really happened when she confronted Itachi. She appreciated that Kakashi first line of questioning was in regard to her health, both physical and mental, only after confirming that she was alright, did he ask about what had happened. Because of that, she was willing to give him some information.


    She told Kakashi about how Itachi and Shisui had trained her for a month, and then Shisui kept on training her all the way up to his death. She''d actually gained a lot of experience fighting against the Sharingan and because Itachi was exhausted from his numerous fights against the Uchiha Clan she was actually able to stand up to him.


    That was a story that Kakashi was able to believe. He did sense there was something more, something she wasn''t saying, but he chose not to pry. She may not have been a shinobi, but she had the mindset of one and knew not to relinquish valuable information without good reason.


    He shared all of this with Remus, catching him up on recent events.


    "I see. That''s troublesome." Remus responded wearily, recognizing that the rift between his old friends and their eldest daughter was growing larger.


    "Has Minato tried anything?" Remus asked.


    "Not the first night, no. A few days went by before the Third Hokage and Lady Tsunade came to see her." Kakashi replied.


    "Oh? How did that turn out?" Remus asked, knowing it probably wasn''t good.


    "Well..." Kakashi began as he remembered back.


    (FLASHBACK)


    "Hello Narumi. It''s good to see you again." Hiruzen Sarutobi stated, as he and his student approached the young girl, whose name was on everyone''s lips.


    "Lord Third." Narumi replied without opening her eyes or moving from her meditative position. She''d spent all of her time recently trying to calm herself and allow her anger to fade away. All she wanted was some peace and quiet so she could focus on her plan.


    "Tsunade and I would like to talk to you." Hiruzen began after a moment of silence.


    "Talk? What about?" Narumi told the two, her voice devoid of emotion.


    "Your father wants you to come home brat. It''s time to put an end to these childish tantrums and return home to your family." Tsunade said to her. Narumi opened one eye and glanced at her. She made a showing of taking in a quick sniff before crinkling her nose.


    "It''s not even noon and you reek of booze." Narumi spoke with disgust.


    "What did you..." Tsunade began as she took a menacing step forward, but her threat died in her throat as Narumi''s eyes snapped open and she released all of her Killing Intent at the legendary Sanin.


    "Tsunade calm down!" Hiruzen snapped at his student sensing the aggression in Narumi''s reaction and having heard of her violence towards Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf.


    Tsunade stared at her goddaughter trembling slightly at the killing intent that was rolling off of her. This wasn''t the largest amount of KI she had ever dealt with not by far, but considering it was coming from an eight-year-old girl, it was so much more stunning then normal.


    "Tsunade!" Hiruzen snapped again. This time her gaze shot to him, and she saw the warning in his eyes. She managed a slight nod, before taking a step back from the small girl.


    "Pathetic." Narumi growled darkly, though the word came from her lips, it was more Madara''s observation of Hashirama''s Granddaughter than anything else. Still, it had the effect of causing Tsunade to glare at her with growing anger.


    "Please Narumi, we''re just here to talk." Hiruzen stated, trying to diffuse the situation.


    "Then talk, but make sure she keeps her mouth under control. I''m sick and tired of her acting as a mouthpiece for my bastard parents. Gods, greatest doctor alive, you''d think she''d be smart enough to have an original thought in her head." Narumi muttered.


    Tsunade balked at that, but another swift look from her former teacher kept her from speaking out.


    "Your father..." Hiruzen began after he composed himself but was cut off by a sudden scoff that escaped from Narumi''s lips.


    "That man is no father to me. He''s never been a father to me. Fuck him!" Narumi spat back, the venom in her tone, caused Hiruzen to flinch and Tsunade to glare.


    "Narumi, your parents love you. They want you to come home." Hiruzen told her.


    "Ha! Bull! According to the Fourth Hokage, I''m just some spoiled brat who''s unworthy to lead his precious clan. I don''t know why he hates me so much, I have no clue why my mother does either, but I''m done pretending like I don''t see it, like it''s not written across their faces every time they see me." Narumi replied angrily, casting a glare at Tsunade daring her to try and challenge her assessment of her parents'' feelings.


    "Please Narumi... none of that is true. Minato is sorry for those things he said. And Lily has missed you greatly. She regrets having not taken the time to express her true feelings. Even Naruko misses you." Hiruzen told her in a kind and gentle tone, hoping to assuage some of her concerns and observations.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    "Don''t assume that because I''m a kid that I''m also an idiot. The Fourth Hokage has never liked me, he''s never cared for me or my accomplishments, and he''s always treated me with displeasure. My mother actually hates me for outshining her precious Naruko. She was going to slap me for just showing them I could wall walk. Naruko pouts that I can do something she can''t, and Lily''s reaction is to try and hit me for it, fuck her! As far as I''m concerned, they can both go pound sand. And on that note, Naruko probably hasn''t been happier since I left. She''s always hated when I outshine her. She''s never been happy for my accomplishments. Honestly, she''s becoming a twisted combination of our parents and it''s honestly disgusting. I wish what you were saying was true, but I know my sister better than you do old man. She doesn''t miss me. Not anymore." Narumi sneered in reply, though her final words in regard to her twin sister, were colored by obvious sadness, and pain.


    The Third Hokage could see the pain reflected in her eyes. Unfortunately, this poor child believed everything that she said, and much to his displeasure, he''d seen enough to suspect her beliefs weren''t without merit.


    "Narumi..."


    "Don''t try it old man. My parents don''t anything from me. They owe me for a lifetime of neglect and abuse." Narumi cut him off.


    "Narumi." Hiruzen whispered with a look of sadness, while Tsunade was sending Narumi a death glare.


    In her mind, she couldn''t comprehend how someone who had a family would turn on them like this. Tsunade had lost most of her family when she was young, and yet here Narumi was spitting on them like they were roaches. The sheer audacity enraged the Senju princess. Couldn''t this child see that was exactly what was being offered? Her parents were willing to take her back in, to make up for what happened between them. Tsunade for her part didn''t think they had to go that far since it was Narumi who''d chosen to leave, it''s not like she''d been kicked out of her home or anything. She abandoned them, she walked away, and they wanted her to come back, wanted to be a family again, and she was spitting all over it. The list of things that Tsunade would give to have her own family back could stretch from one end of Konoha to the other.


    "My parents are nothing to me anymore. It''s like Kakashi always says. ''Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.'' They abandoned me, and I''m family to them... I wonder what that makes them. What''s lower than trash? And then what''s lower than that? I hate them both. They can go die for all I care; I don''t need them." Narumi stated coldly her feelings manifesting through her words.


    "Do not speak of your parents like that you little shit!" Tsunade finally exploded in rage; she shot forward to grab the little brat and teach her a lesson.


    "Tsunade!" Hiruzen cried out as his student lifted the girl into the air, holding her threateningly.


    Tsunade was about to hit her, when a glint of metal flickered in her eyes. Faster than she would have ever expected from such a young child, Narumi drew a kunai and slashed it across Tsunade''s wrist, slicing through tendons and muscle.


    Narumi dropped to the ground, released as Tsunade lost motor function in her hand.


    The child moved back, ready for a fight, but Tsunade didn''t pursue, instead her eyes were locked onto her own wrist. For the briefest of moments, she could hardly believe that her goddaughter had managed that. That disbelief lasted for only a moment as her mind registered the stream of red pouring down her arm.


    Tsunade froze, every muscle in her body tightening as she dropped to her knees.


    "Tsunade!" Hiruzen called out, racing to her side. He could see her beginning to tremble, as fear took over. Quickly he knelt, and grabbed hold of her wrist, stemming the flow of blood. She needed to get to a healer.


    Narumi stared as this happened confusion and uncertainly dancing onto her face. After several long moments, she chose to retreat, leaving the Third Hokage to tend to his student. When he finally looked to her, he found the girl to be missing, having fled the field.


    Like so many others, Tsunade had fallen for a near fatal blunder. Narumi was no mere child.


    (End flashback)


    "Wow." Remus stated.


    "Yeah. I got the whole story from Lord Third. The council wasn''t happy when they heard." Kakashi informed his friend with a chuckle.


    "So? What did they do?" Remus inquired.


    "They sent a team of shinobi to bring her to the council chambers." Kakashi replied.


    "What happened?" Remus asked.


    "She left two in comas, one lost his hand, one will never have children, and another is going to require thirty surgeries to get his face looking even remotely close to human again." Kakashi replied with a grimace, causing Remus to grimace as well.


    "She took down a five-man squad all on her own. How?" Remus uttered in disbelief.


    "No idea. From what I heard, they said something about glowing red eyes, and the fact that they couldn''t seem to land a hit on her. It sounds like they actually fought her, but they couldn''t manage to land a single blow. Some of them swore up and down that they were certain they''d landed a strike, but then it missed somehow. They couldn''t make heads or tails of it. I think she brought one down with genjutsu, though each and every one of them was beaten and cut. She''s become quite frightening with the use of the sword of her." Kakashi explained to him.


    "How did that all sit with Minato?" Remus asked after a moment.


    "He''s not happy. I... I think he''s getting close to arresting her. The only reason he hasn''t yet it it''ll make him look weak being unable to control his own daughter to the point of throwing her in a cell. And of course, if any of our enemies hear about this, what will they think. Still, he''s at his wits end." Kakashi explained with a sigh.


    "I see." Remus stated as he went back to looking at Narumi. He couldn''t get over the feeling within him. The wolf was howling at him to flee or submit, there was obviously an Alpha predator nearby, and Remus suspected it was Narumi.


    "Gentlemen." Both men turned to see an Anbu standing behind them.


    "Yes?" Kakashi inquired.


    "If you wouldn''t mind. Could you offer your assistance? The council and Hokage has asked for lady Narumi''s presence, and I don''t wish for a confrontation." The Anbu inquired, both men could tell he was uneasy with the prospect of approaching Narumi.


    "Okay. Just follow my lead, and if she gets violent back down immediately." Kakashi ordered, as he let out a sigh.


    "Care to join us?" He asked Remus.


    "Sure." Remus accepted as the three walked out into the windy field to speak to Narumi.


    "Narumi?" Kakashi stated as they approached.


    "Yes?" Narumi asked in a calm voice.


    "The council wishes to speak with you. Could you come with us, please?" Kakashi asked kindly. Remus and the Anbu both watched, waiting to see her reaction.


    "Why?" She asked, opening her eyes and letting out a tired sigh.


    "If I had to guess, it''s probably in regard to the recent fights." Kakashi surmised.


    "Oh, then fuck no." Narumi responded.


    Kakashi let out a sigh and turned to the ANBU offering a shrug. He nodded and quickly departed to let the council know Narumi''s answer.


    "Hey there Narumi." Remus greeted her, causing a small smile to form on her face.


    "Hi uncle Remus." Narumi greeted him with a tired look.


    "How''re you doing?" Remus asked as she walked up to him. He offered her a hug, which she gladly accepted.


    "I''m tired. This place has been a major drain on me lately." Narumi replied.


    "Take it one day at a time. It gets easier. Grieving is never a simple thing." Kakashi offered to her.


    "Yeah. Thanks, Kakashi. I keep waking up thinking I''m gonna see him again, that Shisui will come back from his mission today and we''ll get to spend time together. It''s happened three times already, and each time I feel awful. It sucks so much. And I don''t think I can take it much longer." Narumi stated with a shake of her head, her words earning a nod of understanding from Kakashi. He could tell she was still struggling with Shisui''s death.


    "I''m so sorry Narumi. I wish there was something that could be done, some way of easing that pain. Unfortunately, it''s like Kakashi said, you can only take it one day at a time." Remus said to her.


    "Hey Remus... how old are kids when they start going to magical school?" Narumi asked him.


    "Eleven, why? Interested in going to one?" Remus inquired.


    "Maybe. I think it might be interesting. Still a few years off though. Guess I''m just trying to get my mind on something else. You went to Hogwarts right, run by Albus Dumbledore?" She answered back.


    "Yes, and yes. I think you''d do well at Hogwarts, but it''s a long way from home." Remus noted, sharing a glance with Kakashi.


    "Maybe that''s what I need right now." Narumi spoke, causing another, more concerned glance to be shared by the two adults.


    "Well if you ever do end up there, I''m certain you''ll like Dumbledore, He''s a very kind man. Some call him the leader of the Light. He led the fight against Voldemort in the last war. I''m sure he''d be happy to have you at Hogwarts." Remus told her with a smile.


    "Yeah, I think I recall meeting him briefly a year or two ago. Old guy, pointy hat, colorful robes. He seemed nice." Narumi replied.


    "That would be him." Remus noted with a warm smile.


    Narumi offered him a smile which she held for a few moments before sighing.


    "Thanks for the pep talk guys, but I''m gonna get out of here. Those guys are probably gonna come back and I''d rather not be here to hear them pestering me more about the council." Narumi said to them.


    "Alright, be safe." Remus said to her.


    She smiled again and offered a wave before vanishing from sight.


    -Later-


    Narumi was walking through the village with a bored look on her face. She didn''t really have a destination; she was just going wherever her feet took her, avoiding shinobi who could be looking for her.


    "There you are!" She heard someone say. Narumi turned and saw her one and only sister standing to the side, with two girls on either side of her, one was a Yamanaka, and the other had bright pink hair.


    "Naruko..." Narumi noted with sadness. As always, she felt the pain of their lost relationship echo throughout her mind. She wanted so badly for them to be friends again, to be sisters, but she knew that was unlikely to happen, especially with her plans to leave this village behind, she likely wouldn''t see her sister again for a long time, maybe not ever, and that was a thought that hadn''t yet stopped stinging.


    "I''m sorry did you say something?" Narumi muttered mimicking Kakashi as she picked at her ear, trying to remain aloof so as to hide her real feelings at the moment.


    "I''ve been looking for you." Naruko growled as she took a threatening step forward. At eight Naruko was a spitting image of Minato. Besides the three whisker marks on either side of her face, she could pass for a younger female version of him. She was Narumi''s exact opposite. Loud, Brash, brightly colored, above average intellect, a genius when it came to magic and ninjutsu, but nowhere near Narumi''s level. Her bright blonde hair was tied into two ponytails, like Tsunade''s that hung down to her lower back.


    "Why are you looking for me?" Narumi questioned.


    "Why else, you ran away you moron! How dare you up and just abandon us. You just up and leave and no one will tell me where you are." Naruko snapped at her.


    Narumi felt her heart melt a bit, but she had to strengthen her resolve. She knew this was just a momentary kindness. The second she went home it''d be back to hot and cold with Naruko, and unfortunately it was always the extremes of both. They might have a good day here and there but for the most part, she knew her sister well enough to know that they''d just end up fighting again, and with their parents always taking Naruko''s side, Narumi knew it would just lead to more heartbreak. She had no intention of watching Naruko evolve into a mini-Minato.


    "I left because I was sick of the way I was treated; I was sick of being bullied by my own parents!" Narumi spat at her.


    "Oh, come off it Narumi, stop being such a drama queen. Mom and Dad were just worried about you, they didn''t want you hurting yourself, and they said so, you just weren''t listening, like usual." Naruko stated dismissively, as oblivious as she''d always been.


    Narumi struggled for the words for several long moments, but finally decided she wasn''t going to be the bigger person this time. Having her sister just so casually dismiss her pain and suffering was like a punch to the gut.


    With a snarl she stormed towards her sister, surprise the girl and roughly shoved her to the ground.


    Her two friends cried out in protest, but Narumi paid them little mind.


    She mounted her sister, and grabbed hold of her jacket, pulling her up to face her.


    "You think I wanted to leave! You think I''m just acting out! You are so blind it''s ridiculous! I will never forgive those bastards for the lifetime of hating me! Why the hell did it have to be you? What makes you so goddamn special! Why the hell do they love you and not me!?" She shrieked at her sister, Naruko stared up at her, terrified and shaking.


    "Why don''t you love me." Narumi asked quietly as her head dropped and tears began to roll down her cheeks.


    "N-Narumi...?" Naruko uttered.


    Narumi gritted her teeth as she tried to fight off the tears, but more of them came. She hated herself for crying right now, and in front of Naruko too.


    "Hey, get off of her!" Came a shout from the side as Narumi felt herself roughly shoved off of Naruko.


    She looked up to see a few younger boys had shown up and chosen to intervene. One of the boys, the one who shoved her, was an Inuzuka. She spotted the Nara heir with him, and the Akimichi heir who was helping Naruko to her feet.


    "What do you think you''re doing weirdo, bullying your sister like that?" The Inuzuka boy snapped at her, folding his arms over his chest.


    "Uh, hey Kiba, leave her alone." Naruko called out, when she noticed him standing over her sister.


    "Got nothing to say?" Kiba growled at her.


    Narumi stared up at him before gritting her teeth. She found no way of expressing her feelings other than to use her fists. In a blindingly fast move she shot up and punched the boy square in the stomach, he folded over, gasping for air, earning surprise from the rest of the group.


    "Narumi." Naruko tried to get her attention but, she wasn''t hearing it. Narumi spat on the ground and vanished in a Shunshine.


    Naruko blinked, staring at where her sister had been, the image of her crying face, and those words burning into her mind.


    She didn''t know, didn''t understand, but Narumi was obviously in pain, and right now, that was all that mattered to Naruko, so she began to move, intent on trying to find her sister and bring her home.


    Hours later, Narumi sat curled in a tree, fresh tears stung at her face. She hated how hurt she was, hated the fact that she cared. A silence fell over the forest, and she let out a noise, her senses going on alert.


    "Narumi Namikaze... our boss would like a word with you?" Came the voice of a masked figure who appeared in the trees to her right.


    "Not interested." Narumi growled.


    "This isn''t a request." The Masked figure spoke, drawing a blade in threat towards her.


    The last thing he saw, was her eyes turn red.


    Several moments passed as Danzo Shimura strolled through the forest, he came to a halt in a clearing, the scent of blood tinging his nose. He lifted his gaze, spotting a thin trickle of blood reflecting in the daylight running down the bark of a tree. He lifted his eyes further and spotted his agent, slumped against the tree, a kunai knife in his heart.


    "My Lord, she''s still here." Came the word of one of his guards who dropped down beside him.


    "Why don''t you come out and speak to me." Danzo spoke up.


    "Who are you?" He heard the girl''s voice. He turned in his place and found her standing several feet behind him, fresh blood staining her face and clothes.


    "Is that the first man you''ve killed?" He asked her.


    "Yes... But it won''t be the last..." Narumi answered, her knuckles white with rage, she was ready for a fight.


    "I see. You are handling your first kill remarkably well. You grasp on your emotions goes well beyond your age. I must say, I am impressed." Danzo said to her.


    "You didn''t answer my question. Who are you?" She repeated, taking note of a second guard, who also wore a mask, jumping down several meters behind her.


    "My name is Danzo Shimura. I was interested in having a conversation with you." Danzo told her. He saw her face visibly twist in rage at hearing his name. Obviously, she knew of him.


    "You, you are Danzo Shimura?" She questioned.


    "Yes, I am." Danzo confirmed.


    "You''re the man who killed Shisui?" She growled, hatred boiling up inside of her.


    Danzo stared at her for a long moment, observing her curiously. "Did Itachi tell you that during your fight? Leave it to him to attempt to sow further discord within our ranks. I admire his cleverness." Danzo said to her


    "What do you want with me?" She demanded of him, all the while plotting how she would take him down and avenge her beloved friend.


    "You are uniquely gifted, Narumi Namikaze. Your abilities far surpass what one should possess at your age. I''ve come to offer you the means of honing those gifts, to aid in unlocking your true potential." Danzo explained to her.


    "And if I say no?" She inquired.


    "The blood of a Leaf village ninja is on your hands. After your recent temper tantrums, who could possibly question that you would have finally snapped. Do you honestly believe your father won''t imprison you for this?" Danzo questioned, causing her face to darken.


    "Shisui was my brother... I loved him. If you think for one damn second that you can blackmail me into being your lackey, you''ve got another thing coming to you." She snarled.


    "Best not make this too difficult. We did manage to defeat your precious Shisui." Came the threat from the masked guard behind her.


    Narumi grit her teeth as her rage built further, finally she let out a growl, and let loose. She launched three shuriken at Danzo and his guard in front of her, before turning to rush the man behind her, summoning her wakizashi as she did.


    She crossed the distance, coming right at him. She saw insects begin to fill the air, signifying this man was an Aburame.


    She wasted no time in dealing with him, knowing full well that if she let those critter bite her, she was likely dead.


    He braced himself to deflect her strike but was unprepared when she phased right through him and his swarm of insects. He could hardly comprehend what had happened when a sharp pain lanced through his back, causing him to lose all feeling in his legs. He was unable to hear the hiss over the sound of his insects swarming out of him as the bomb tag attached to the kunai lodged in his back, exploded, blasting him apart, and taking his bugs with him.


    "What in the hell?!" Danzo''s other guard gasped in disbelief. He moved to go after her, but Danzo halted him.


    "No. The ANBU are coming. They''ll have heard the explosion. She somehow managed to pass right through him. How is such a thing possible?" Danzo was left to wonder as he and his guard retreated.


    Meanwhile Narumi raced into the forest. It seemed that her time here had come to an end far faster than she''d anticipated. She knew that Danzo was likely to fulfill his threat and use the deaths of his two men to get the village to fully turn against her. She couldn''t stay here anymore. She had to leave. Thankfully she was ready and had been preparing for this moment.


    One of the powers she had gained from her Mangekyou Sharingan was the power known as Kamui. It was essentially a pocket dimension that she could enter and exit at will. She could also send parts of her body into the Kamui dimension which allowed her the power of Intangibility, or the ability to phase through solid matter. Within the Kamui dimension she was God. She could alter its shape, its form, it''s composition. She could alter the flow of time, adjust gravity, she had full control over it. The only rule was that the more she changed things from what were consider earth norm, the more Chakra it took to keep it that way while she was within the dimension. So, she could come and go with only the initial chakra cost if the Kamui dimension had all of the same aspect of reality that earth did, same gravity, same passage of time, but if she altered them in any way, then it took a constant stream of chakra to remain there.


    Kamui was a miraculously useful technique, as it not only provided her a base to hide in, but when she entered Kamui she could exit it to anywhere in the world she''d been before, meaning it essentially allowed her to teleport. She could also use it for storage, which she''d been doing to hoard supplies and stolen goods for her planned escape from the village.


    Armed with new resolve, she created three Shadow Clones and sent them off running into three different directions so that pursuers would have trails to follow, she then activated the technique vanishing into Kamui. She''d use the power to teleport outside of the village and then wait. If she wanted to truly be free, she''d have to put as much distance between herself and this village as humanly possible.


    -To be Continued-

 Departure from these lands

    Broken Angel


    Chapter 5: Departure from these lands


    Minato had his head in his hands as he considered the situation he was in. Narumi had disappeared. Two men, one a member of the Aburame clan were now dead. The Council was furious. They wanted her found, immediately. She wasn''t a shinobi so they couldn''t label her a missing ninja, but she was still a citizen of Konoha, and with her involvement surrounding these deaths, she was now a criminal.


    Any hope he''d had about avoiding looking foolish or weak, went up like a poof of smoke. He regretted now not placing the Hiraishin seal on her. With it, he could have just teleported to her location and forced her back to the village. Unfortunately, he didn''t know how that seal would interact with the Nine Tails Seal. The more seals placed on the body, the more unstable they became, so he hadn''t thought to risk it, and of course, she was just a child.


    The truth, that simple reality it seems, had been everyone''s folly.


    "So, she''s gone." Came the voice of a woman. He lifted his gaze to find a hooded figure standing before him. How she''d snuck into his office without him noticing, he didn''t know, but now wasn''t the time to worry about it.


    "Yes. Her scent follows the trail of several Shadow Clones but then it ends. There''s no sign of her at the end of any of those trails." Minato answered the mysterious woman.


    "Hm... so what do you suspect?" She inquired.


    "The only answer I have for such a vanishing act, the only way to disappear without leaving a scent behind, without leaving a single track, is to teleport. I wouldn''t think a child capable of such high level jutsu, but I see that underestimating her is what got us into this problem." Minato responded, sighing in frustration.


    "You knew the risks. The Toads Prophecy is coming true." The woman hummed, causing Minato''s visage to darken.


    "It''s not something I want to believe, and yet it seems to be the case, the more time goes on." Minato spoke.


    "A daughter of the blood of the Fire''s Shadow will burn the Leaf to ashes, and a daughter of the blood of the Fire''s Shadow will rekindle the embers, and the Leaf will bloom anew." Two daughters of the Fire Shadow, namely the Hokage. One to destroy it, one to save it. The working alongside another prophecy that claimed that a student of Master Jiraiya would become the prophesized hero and would bring peace to the world. One day, he would train Naruko, he would teach her, and she would be fully included in that prophecy, just as she was the second one. Minato had long known which of his children were meant for which role. The obviously darker, more violent twin was the destroyed, and the kind and loving one, the savior.


    It had long been the truth, and even now, he regretted his role in having made her. Narumi had been a mistake. From the very beginning she''d been a mistake. For a moment he thought of her, that woman from so long ago, and he couldn''t help but growl in frustration. He should have never agreed to her conditions. The amount of misery that had been caused because he allowed a moment of weakness to lead to all of this. The gift that kept on giving. The Nine Tails attack, the violence perpetrated on the citizenry, and now the deaths of two more loyal ninja, all a result of that damned decision so many years ago.


    He wondered, if for a moment, fixing the seal would have done anything. The damage done to the Seal seemed old, worn in a way, like it had happened a long time ago. In the end, because of the prophecy, and because of what he knew, he felt it didn''t matter. If Narumi was destined to become an enemy, why put in the effort?


    At the thought, an image of a smiling face flashed in his mind. An old friend, a woman. He gritted his teeth as he felt his heart lurch. He cursed himself for being so weak. He hated how he had let this all come to pass because of his mistake. If he''d just been stronger, more resilient, if he''d thought with his head, he could have avoided all of this trouble, all of these lost lives, all of this pain and suffering, even this prophecy would have never come to be had he made the right choice back then.


    It all stemmed from that, and he hated himself for it, and he knew that he had long taken that hatred out on Narumi. In her, he saw the same impulsiveness that had got him into this whole mess, and it pissed him off to no end. He hated it in himself, and he hated her for having it.


    "What will you do now, Fourth Hokage?" The mystery woman spoke.


    "She needs to be found. I''ll decide then." He answered, lifting his gaze to the woman.


    "And if the answer is death? Do you have it in you to destroy her? It should have happened years ago. I told you what we stood to gain, how splitting the Fox''s power from its soul could benefit us, but you did not listen. To trapped by nostalgia and love. You owe her nothing. You are the Hokage. You do what is best for the village. What happened then cannot be undone, and it had the chance to provide us an incredible boon, one never seen before in the history of the Elemental Nations. You could have answered for your screwup with this gift, instead, you let her live, and now the child has become a problem." The woman spoke harshly, her tone causing Minato to flinch.


    He said nothing as she glowered at him, her eyes elegant amethysts


    "First she must be found." He said darkly.


    "Yes, first she must be found." The woman agreed, her gaze as piercing as it had ever been.


    -Two Weeks Later-


    He landed atop a tree branch high and hidden amongst the foliage. The Hyuuga clan member had barely survived the murder of his teammates.


    The group had been tracking leads on the missing Clan Heir Narumi Namikaze when they''d found her. One went to report back on what they''d found, the other three moved to confront her.


    They were both dead now, and he was the last man standing.


    Despite being little more than a child, the girl possessed remarkable combat abilities.


    She was nearly impossible to hit, their attacks seeming to pass right through her. He was sure of it, he could see it with his Byakugan their attacks were actually landing, they just passed through her without harm. His two comrades fell quickly. She keenly capitalized on their moments of shock or confusion when their attacks missed. She struck out at them with strange weapons as well. Seemingly from nowhere she would call upon these weapons that were made from red or green energy.


    It was impossible to describe or to understand really. These weapons appeared almost like glass or crystalline versions of basic shinobi weapons like shuriken or kunai. They appeared either green or red, solid in color, and after a few moments they faded out of existence. They were real tools though. He''d seen several of the green colored shuriken embed into the body of his comrade before she cut his throat with a green tanto. His other comrade, he had to put down himself as he was struck by a red kunai knife in the arm, and after several long moments the veins in the arm began to bulge and he started screaming and began clawing and thrashing at his own face. When he tried to call out to his comrade, he turned to him, his eyes bloodshot and manic, and charged at him, intent on tearing his throat out. He had to put him down, otherwise he''d have been torn to pieces.


    He had no idea how it had happened, but now he needed to get away from her and await reinforcements.


    Activating his Byakugan he scanned the surrounding area. He saw her coming, she was above him, already her strange weapons were appearing in her hand, she tossed three green and three red shuriken down towards him. He rose and using his gentle fist taijutsu, knocked the incoming weapons out of the air, he then fell into a fighting stance as she landed on the end of the branch and rushed at him.


    He readied to jump, knowing that his attacks would likely pass through her. He struck and she jumped over him, he spun to deliver another strike, as she landed, she dropped to a squat, his hand launched forward, aimed at her shoulder, trying to disable the tenketsu in her shoulder. His hand passed through her. She shifted, gliding out from his attack, her eyes blazed with a strange red pattern. It almost looked like the Sharingan but he''d never seen it look like that before.


    The moment she was no longer in contact with him, he felt a sharp pain lance across his extended arm, he saw it coming but couldn''t pull back in time. In her hand, a sword made of red energy shaped, the blade forming rapidly, rushing up to slice at his arm in its formation. He pulled back and dropped from the branch, landing on the ground his eyes shot to the cut on his arm. The cut itself was little more than an annoyance, and yet a burning pain was beginning to spread through his forearm to his fingers and up towards his shoulder.


    "Oh no." He remembered the reaction of his squad mate. The veins around the wound slowly began to darken and to his horror, he felt his anger beginning to grow out of control.


    He suddenly found himself screaming. He tried in vain with the last of his willpower to regain control and undo whatever she''d done to him, but it wouldn''t work. His screams turned feral and soon he found himself racing towards a tree where he began to mercilessly claw and tear at the bark.


    He kept screaming and cursing in blind rage, even as he felt his legs give out beneath him. He barely felt the pain as Narumi appeared at his back, slashing across the nape of his neck.


    He fell to the ground and continued howling. He saw her, as she rolled him onto his back. He wanted to kill her, wanted to claw her eyes out, wanted to tear the skin from her tiny body and bury his manhood in every hole she had. He just needed to reach her, to get his hands on her, so close, she was so close.


    He didn''t stop screaming, even as his veins burned red, and a fiery energy began to melt at his flesh. She knelt down and drew a knife, bringing it down to his eyes. He was still alive, so the seal that was placed on all Hyuuga branch family member to destroy their eyes if they''re killed, hadn''t yet activated. She did remove his headband, observing the seal as it was overtaken by the red glow of his veins. She watched the seal glow and begin to distort, breaking apart even as she carved out his eyes, and placed them in a jar of fluid to preserve them. She managed to get one eye before the red coloring got to it, but the other had begun filling with blood, even as she removed it. She stored it away, regardless, but in a separate container.


    "Horrifying. All he feels is rage. Not even pain can breach his senses now." Madara spoke, observing through her eyes as she rose back to her feet.


    "Yeah... It''s so weird. The green weapons don''t have this affect, and yet, I feel more confident when wielding them, surer of myself. The red ones though, they infect people with rage, and I feel my own anger building the long I hold such tools in my hand." Narumi noted, turning away from the screaming and dying man, leaving him to bleed out from the cut on his neck.


    Amatsumara the power stored within her left eye. It granted her the power to create objects out of some kind of glowing energy, the energy though, was colored by her emotions. The red objects were born out of her anger, when she wanted to create them, she just needed to focus on anger, and these objects carried a devastating effect on her victims, as she was so deliberately reminded today. The Green ones she hadn''t quite figured out yet. They seemed to come from her determination, and were the easiest to make, as the simple desire to create something using the power could allow for a green object to form. The only other color she knew could form was Violet colored objects which formed when she thought of her grandfather, or Shisui, they were made from love, though she hadn''t yet known of any special effects for the violet objects but they were also currently the hardest to manifest. She could make any object she desired, causing it to appear in her hands. The object was forged from her imagination, the more accurate her understanding of a thing, the closer she could get the projection to it. This allowed her to make kunai and shuriken that were as strong as their normal counterpart, but ones that could be used against her as all of the constructs could be destroyed with a thought from her, or after a few moments. Each object she made, took a small portion of Chakra to create, or more accurately, to shape, and then a steady stream of chakra was needed to keep the object present so she couldn''t create a great number of objects, and couldn''t keep them around for very long.


    As noted, the chakra required to create the object was used to shape the colored energy that made up the object. She had no idea what this energy was, her Sharingan couldn''t determine anything from it, as it wasn''t chakra, or any kind of raw magic. The only magic the constructs gave off were her own.


    She wasn''t limited to just manifesting the items in hand. She could actually create them anywhere within her field of view, and she could actually manipulate them to, without having to touch them, able to move them with her mind, but both of those tasks took a ridiculous amount of focus, and her young mind was unable to grasp that level of control as of yet.


    Amatsumara was an incredible technique that served as a valuable means of offense and defense, she just needed to work on her control, her understanding of the things she wanted to make, and her chakra levels so she could use the technique with greater efficiency.


    Leaving the fallen shinobi behind, she quickly vanished into Kamui ensuring that when Leaf Shinobi came here to investigate, they wouldn''t be able to track her to a new location.


    These last few weeks Narumi had been on the run. She had a plan, and knew where she needed to go, but much to her displeasure found that she couldn''t reach her destination.


    She knew the only way she would be safe from those hunting her, was to exit the Elemental Nations entirely. The Elemental Nations themselves were on a continent that was hidden on the world. It was like an entirely different world, located alongside the main one. A single access point had been discovered a few centuries ago, allowing for travel between the Elemental Nations and the outside world. It was heavily guarded on both sides by Shinobi and Samurai. It was one of the few places where Shinobi from different lands worked together to guard it and keep trespassers out. Only those authorized by one of the Daimyo could come and go, and with Narumi now on the run, she wasn''t going to be able to get a permit.


    That left the only other means of exiting the Elemental Nations, and that was teleportation. She couldn''t use Kamui to get out, as she could only exit to places, she''d been before, but there was still a way. She just needed a portkey.


    Portkeys were magical teleportation devices that could be used to transport someone to a specific location. In many cases they were one time use, to get from point A to point B. Some could be made to take people back and forth, it just depended on the person making it.


    Here in the Elemental Nations only one group of people made and dealt in portkeys, and that was the Goblins of Gringotts. The top bankers of the magical world. They could make a portkey for you, but it would cost an arm and a leg to get one, and Narumi was as broke as could be. She needed money, so she''d been working to steal a bit for herself these last few weeks, all the while avoiding the shinobi hunting her.


    She''d normally have just run away from this team of ninja chasing her, but the moment she saw a Hyuuga amongst them, Madara came up with a plan to take them down. Acquiring the Byakugan was an incredibly valuable boon, and she had the right kind of tool to incapacitate him for long enough to steal his eyes.


    As Madara explained to her, the nature of the Caged Bird Seal prevented it from activating unless the victim was dead. You couldn''t time the seal to activate if the eyes were tampered with since if the Hyuuga in question rubbed at their eyes too hard, or maybe even tried to clean them out, the seal might interpret that as tampering and activate, blinding the Hyuuga. So, it was just understood that the Hyuuga would fight to the death, and the seal would activate the moment they died, sealing away the eyes.


    The Hyuuga had long liked to think their seal was fool proof, but it was old, and lacked developmental progress, much like the Hyuuga themselves.


    Today proved that he''d been right, as she''d secured both eyes from the dying man before he succumbed, and the seal activated. The Hyuuga, it seems were just as prideful and overconfident as most people these days, thinking they had everything secured and under control. Without experimentation though, without testing the limits of a thing, how were you to ever know it''s weaknesses? The world was always changing, and shinobi were devising new and exciting tactics each and every day. The Caged Bird Seal was centuries old. Something that old had no doubt, outlived its peak performance, especially if it wasn''t being adapted for the times.


    Now she had two Byakugan eyes, and not a single clue with what to do with them. Thankfully they were safe in a storage scroll now and would remain in perfect condition until she removed them. Maybe she could sell them, or perhaps just one of them, to a foreign nation. That could provide her all the money she could ever need and allow her to escape this place.


    She mused on that idea for a long moment before a smile colored her lips. She had two eyes, so she could sell one, and keep the other.


    "Wasn''t there that incident a few years back regarding an attack on the Hyuuga clan by Kumo ninja? I think that would be an excellent place to start." Madara noted.


    Narumi grinned to herself, a plan quickly forming.


    -A few weeks later-


    A troop of Kumo shinobi were racing through the rocky, mountainous terrain of the Land of Lightning, headed back towards Kumogakure when a strange figure appeared in the path before them.


    "Who are you?" Came the question from the lead shinobi. The figure before him was short, looking to be only a child. They wore a long dark cloak draped down to the ankles, and a crimson red mask with black flames burning inward from the cheeks and forehead, two dark eyeholes stared back at him from beyond the mask.


    "I''ve come to trade something with you Kumo ninja." A young girlish voice spoke from beneath the mask.


    "Trade with us? What are you talking about? Go home girl!" The lead shinobi snapped at her, while sharing a glance with one of his comrades.


    "I have the Byakugan in my possession. I''m willing to trade it to Kumo for a fair price." Narumi called out to them, just as two members of the squad appeared at her flanks standing several meters away, eying her with suspicion. At hearing her declaration, surprise was the immediate response.


    "What did you say?" The lead shinobi questioned.


    "You heard me. I have the Byakugan the Kekkei Genkai of the Hyuuga clan of the Hidden Leaf. I took it from a member of the clan while he was still alive. I''m willing to trade it to Kumogakure in exchange for payment." Narumi elaborated.


    The group stood in silence as they contemplated her words. The group''s leader than glanced over his shoulder at their charge, the person they''d been escorting back to Kumo for a meeting with the Raikage.


    A young woman stepped forward, probably in her late teens or early twenties. Olive Blonde hair, and dark eyes. Her forehead protector marked her as a Kumo ninja, and from beneath Narumi''s mask her Sharingan could see the torrents of chakra burning within this woman.


    "What is that, Grandfather?" Narumi questioned.


    "That, my dear, is the Two-Tailed Hellcat. This must be one of Kumo''s Jinchuriki. My goodness, don''t you have all the luck." Madara answered with a hum.


    "You claim to have the Byakugan prove it." The woman spoke.


    "I''m just a Shadow Clone. I wouldn''t risk intercepting a troop of Kumo ninja to make this deal without taking some precautions. Still, you have what I need, and I have something your village wants." Narumi replied.


    A small smile touched at the woman''s lips.


    "Smart girl. And skilled too, creating a Shadow Clone at your age. Ya know, I heard a rumor recently that Shinobi from the Hidden Leaf had been searching for a young girl. And here stands a young girl with the stolen eyes of a Leaf Shinobi." The woman mused, voicing her suspicion to her companions who seemed to quickly come to the same conclusion as she had.


    Narumi noticed that some of the Shinobi began to subtly shift into battle stances, readying themselves for a fight.


    "I wouldn''t advise that. I might be just a clone, but I take attacks against my person very seriously." Narumi warned them.


    "Oh, do you think I don''t know where you are right now? The real you?" The woman questioned before turning her head across a gorge. There on the far side of it, her eyes settled onto a bush, which she knew contained the real child.


    "So, you''re a sensor? That''s fine, so am I. Don''t think I''m afraid of some oversized cat." Narumi spat back ruefully, causing the smile on the woman''s face to fall.


    "You have very strange chakra. I''m never seen anything like it before. And there''s something ominous about you. Something dark, and indescribably malevolent." The woman noted, eying her intently.


    "Last chance. Take the offer. All I want is money. Pay me a fair sum and I''ll give you the eye." Narumi decided to stop with the posturing and get back on point. She wasn''t confident of her abilities to take on a Jinchuriki of all things. That was way outside of the scope of her powers at the moment.


    "Fine, we''ll take your offer to the Raikage. Wait here, someone will be back with a response." The lead ninja spoke after sharing a quick conversation with the Jinchuriki. The troop quickly departed, heading on their way, leaving Narumi behind. She felt some of the tension leave her body, but she knew it was likely they''d try to set a trap. Shinobi were nefarious by their very nature, and she knew not to trust them at their word.


    The real Narumi chose to hide, leaving her Shadow Clone with the scroll containing the eye. If they tried to attack her, the clone could just seal it back into Kamui, and keep it from them, while also keeping her safe from any underhanded tactics.


    It was nearly twelve hours before a troop of Shinobi returned, the Jinchuriki amongst them, though leading the pack was a massive man, built like a tank. He had dark skin with light blonde hair. He towered over her, rippling muscles adorning his body. A small mustache and beard wore upon his face, and his eyes held an intensity to them that she was often reminded of when she met her father''s gaze.


    "You must be the Raikage." Narumi guessed.


    "And You''re the Fourth Hokage''s daughter." A noted, causing Narumi''s muscles to tense.


    "I can sense the power of the Nine Tails. It''s weak, but it is there." The woman from before confirmed.


    "So, you''re the missing child the Leaf is pursuing with such tenacity. I can understand why, now." A spoke.


    "Have you come to accept my offer?" Narumi questioned him.


    "Hmm... perhaps, but first I''d like to know something, why is it that you turned your back on your village and your own family? You''ve even attacked your own countrymen." A questioned her.


    "My so-called countrymen attacked me first, and I didn''t attack them, I killed them. Five Leaf ninja, three Chuunin and Two ANBU Black Ops are now dead because they tried me. I know I stand no chance against you, but do you really wanna risk learning the reason I was able to kill those men? I mean... I''m just a clone, but who''s to say I couldn''t kill one of your own guys before you destroyed me. I don''t wanna fight, I came here to make a deal, but if you''re unwilling or you intend to try and capture me, then so be it. I''ll do what I have to in order to survive." Narumi responded to him, ready to use Amatsumara to summon a red kunai behind the Jinchuriki and launch it at her. She had no idea how it would affect her, but if its effect were the same, then the Raikage would be forced to deal with this problem, instead of looking for Narumi, she''d also have deprived him on a Jinchuriki for a little while, and possibly other shinobi if others fell during the Cat''s rampage. Yeah, she''d end up being hunted by Kumo as well, but her intention was to leave the entire continent, they''d never find her out in the rest of the world.


    A spent several long moments staring down at the child.


    "You understand that dealing with a rogue element from a foreign nation is dangerous business. The Leaf wants you, if they track you here, that could implicate my village in whatever problems you''re dealing with. This isn''t as simple as you make it out to be." A stated to her.


    "They won''t track me here. I''ve got trails leading in every direction imaginable. They''re just as likely to believe I came here, as they are to believe I went to any of the other villages." Narumi assured him.


    "You were caught once." A pointed out.


    "I could have fled. It would have been easy for me to get away from them, but when I saw they had a Hyuuga amongst them I saw an opportunity to get what I needed." Narumi countered.


    "And what is it you want? Money? What for?" A questioned.


    "So that I can escape the Hidden Leaf. The how behind it is my own business. So, I''ll ask one last time Lord Raikage, are you interested?" Narumi questioned him.


    A was silent for a moment before taking a step forward.


    "I''ve never met a child like you before. There''s something remarkably unsettling about you girl. I don''t how you plan to do it, but I doubt you''ll last long. The Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf are tenacious, and they won''t forgive the deaths of so many of their own. Run all you like, eventually they''ll find you." A stated to her.


    "I know, but when they do, I''ll be ready." Narumi responded with confidence.


    "I see. Very well, show me the eye." A instructed. Narumi nodded, and removed a scroll from beneath her cloak, she opened it, and removed one of the two jars from the storage seal, the one containing the pristine eye. She held up the vial, which caused A to turn and glance at one of his subordinates, a blond haired man, who stared intently at it.


    "I sense Chakra within that eye, it''s the Byakugan." The man confirmed.


    "Good. Then I see no reason to refuse to make a deal. You wish for money, considering the scope of what you''re offering, I''m willing to offer the price for a S-Ranked mission. One million Ryo." A offered to her.


    "What do you think Grandfather?" Narumi asked him.


    "You could definitely get more for it, but that would require bartering for a higher price, and it would mean staying here longer. There''s still no guarantee this wont end in a fight. It''s not over until you''re home free. In your position I would demand more, but that would be my pride talking, considering I know that it is valuable to them. Still, since it is you, instead of I, I''d go with accepting it. Best to take the offer. A portkey made by the goblins cost eighty-five thousand Ryo, so It''s more than enough to by one and use it to get out of here." Madara responded to her.


    "Fine, that''s more than I need." Narumi replied to the Raikage.


    A nodded and turned to one of his subordinates. He gave the man a nod, who then approached Narumi, carrying a briefcase. He opened it, showing the stacks of money inside, as well as the absence of any traps or seals within the briefcase. After a moment, he sealed the case and offered it to her in exchange for the vial.


    She handed the vial to him, taking the briefcase as she did. The carried the vial over to the Raikage offering it to him with a bow.


    He examined it for a brief moment before turning his gaze back to her.


    "A piece of advice kid, I''d make extra certain you spend that well. You''re being hunted by a shinobi village. There aren''t many places you can hide from such a force, and I know the Fourth Hokage, he won''t let you go without a fight. I''d find a nice deep hole to bury yourself in and disappear for good." A said to her before signaling his men to begin heading out.


    "Thanks for the advice, farewell." She said to him before turning and racing towards the edge of the gorge to jump in, A watched her disappear over the edge, only for his sensor subordinates to suddenly react and race over to the edge in surprise.


    "She''s gone." The Jinchuriki stated, unable to spot any signs of the girl.


    "I felt the clone''s chakra just disappear. That was so strange." The other sensor noted.


    "She''s the Fourth Hokage''s daughter. Teleportation runs in that family. If she used what I think she used, they really will never stop hunting for her." A spoke, drawing their attention back to him. He once more gave the eye a careful look before smirking to himself.


    "I don''t know what kind of madhouse you''re running in your village Fourth Hokage, but your loss appears to be my gain." A thought to himself before turning to head back towards Kumogakure, his subordinates quickly joining to follow behind him.


    "Do you believe her my lord, that she killed five Leaf Shinobi?" The Jinchuriki asked.


    "If you''d asked me a year ago, I''d have doubted it. That girl, she couldn''t be more than ten, given her height. But then the Uchiha were wiped out by a thirteen-year-old boy. The only thing I know for certain Yugito was that they wouldn''t be so openly looking for her, if lives hadn''t been lost. If it was just the Hokage''s missing daughter, or the Leaf''s missing Jinchuriki, they''d be far more discreet. No... someone has died, that I know for certain. That child, she''s dangerous. We''d best not underestimate her when next we run into her." A stated.


    "You think we will?" His other subordinate asked.


    "I''m sure of it. Something in my bones tells me we''ll have another run-in with her. So, let''s not make the same mistake those idiots in the Leaf obviously have, and mistake her for just a little girl. She''s a killer and should be acknowledged and treated as such." A said to them, making sure that they were on the same page as him. That girl was no mere child. She may not have been an official shinobi, but she had the mind of one. That girl was a ninja in all but the paperwork, and honestly, such a thing hardly mattered in their world.


    Still, as offput as he was from this interaction it had netted Kumo an enormous bounty and for that, he was pleased.


    -Several days later-


    Narumi sat by the edge of the river that fed through the capital city of the Land of Fire. In spite of the dangers of being in this country she needed to come here to meet with the Gringotts goblins. She knew for a fact that the ones here could make the portkey that she needed. While they most likely could at the banks at the other capitols, Narumi was unwilling to risk spending any more time in this land than she had too.


    She''d already snuck into the city and placed the order for a portkey to be made, she also opened herself an account under a new name. All things being equal, and with her intention to head to Europe she chose a European name. Riley had been the name she''d settled on, Riley, it was a name that meant ''courageous'' or ''valiant'' in Irish which Riley was one-eighth of on her mother''s side. Her great grandfather was full blooded Irish, at least according to her mother. She''d chosen the name because she believed these were attributes and qualities that those hunting her would never attribute to her, and so they''d never consider the name or it''s like as an alias of hers, she also stuck close to home as most would assume she''d never choose to relate to something that came from her mother.


    As for a last name, it was Madara who instructed her to take on the name Uzumaki-Uchiha. The Uchiha part came from him, the Uzumaki from his wife, who had been the ruler of the Uzumaki clan, which made her the second heir to that unofficial bloodline. Minato was first in line, but he didn''t know about it, meaning it was a possibility that she could claim the title of Ruley of the Uzumaki. That didn''t mean overly much, but it was still a name, and both of them belonged to her.


    She considered it, and while acknowledging that it was dangerous, she knew they''d be on the opposite side of the planet, it was unlikely anyone would ever recognize either name, and by the time someone did, and reported it back to the Leaf, she''d be ready for them.


    So, with that in mind, she rechristened herself Riley Uzumaki Uchiha, her new name, her new identity, and the person she would be in the coming years. As far as anyone was concerned, Narumi Namikaze was gone, disappeared like a poof of smoke. Hopefully, never to be seen again. Riley Uzumaki Uchiha was what remained, and it was who she was now. That person was whoever she chose to be.


    Panting breath caught her ears, and she immediately stood up. There, standing in the shadows behind her was an oversized bulldog. She recognized the lumbering beast, her eyes widening beneath her mask.


    "I know you''re here." She spoke up. A moment after the final word left her mouth a figure hopped down from the trees.


    "Narumi..." A masked figure greeted her. An ANBU of the Hidden Leaf, wearing a dog mask. Someone she knew very well and cared for a lot.


    "Kakashi. How''d you find me?" She asked him, ready to fight, if need be, an idea that tore at her heart, as her eyes flickered about, searching for the rest of his squad.


    "You''ve lived in a city your whole life, and they''re easy places to get lost in. Plus, my hounds know your scent by heart." Kakashi said to her.


    "I hope you haven''t come to try and bring me back." She said to him.


    "Why did you leave?" He asked in response.


    "You know why." She responded darkly.


    "Because you killed those men?" He questioned her.


    "They killed themselves when they attacked me. They all did. I''ve only defended myself against the people coming after me." Narumi responded, anger touching at her voice.


    "They attacked you?" He questioned, still remaining rooted where he had landed.


    "The first two, those ANBU. They came after me, under orders from a guy named Danzo." She said to him, causing him to physically react, like a tensing of the muscles.


    "Danzo? You''re saying Danzo targeted you? I see..." Kakashi spoke, his surprise fading after a moment as he contemplated that information.


    "He tried to capture me, so I killed his men and fled. I knew he''d pin their deaths on me and make me out to be a criminal. It''s why I had to leave at that exact moment, not that I wasn''t planning on leaving anyway. After everything that happened there, after my treatment and that crap with the Uchiha clan that got Shisui killed. Danzo did that too, ya know! He murdered my best friend, and then tried to capture me for some reason." She explained to him.


    "Did Itachi tell you this? About Shisui I mean? That night when you went to the clan household, did he tell you this then?" Kakashi asked her.


    "Yeah. He also told me the truth about why he did it." She responded darkly.


    "What? What do you mean by that?" Kakashi questioned.


    "You know about the Masked Man right? The Fourth told you about him?" She asked him, gaining a nod of affirmation she continued, "Well I''m guessing he either hid this information from the elders and the council or he just didn''t grasp that the man was working alone. Regardless the council blamed the Uchiha for the Nine Tails attack all those years ago. They treated them terribly due to their suspicion and the Hokage either let it happen or encouraged it. Either way, the Uchiha began planning a coup to retaliate for the years of mistreatment. Shisui was sent to end the conflict peacefully but was killed by Danzo to prevent that from happening, so they went with option B. Itachi was ordered to kill them all, and he did, to stop the coup from happening and spare the village from war. Though honestly, I think he did it for his brother. He knew if it turned into a war the Uchiha would likely lose, so he wanted to save his brother from that conflict. The Masked Man was there that night, he helped Itachi wipe out the clan. Itachi went with him after it was all over. I think he intends to spy on the man, and eventually kill him if he gets the chance. Itachi saved the village, all because the Council let things get so bad. My best friend died because of that, because of them. The Masked Man, the Council, the Hokage, they''re all responsible as far as I''m concerned. If Danzo hadn''t come after me, I still would have left. I couldn''t stay there anymore. I''m sorry Kakashi. I really am. I wish I''d had the chance to say goodbye to you, and Remus, and the Ichirakus, but I couldn''t. You guys, you were the only people who cared about me. The only ones who gave a damn. I don''t think I''ve ever thanked you for that. So... thank you. Whatever happens going forward, for good or for ill, thank you for being my friend, Kakashi." Riley explained the situation to him, finishing it with something she''d always wanted to say to him, but never got the chance to. She had enough regrets surrounding Shisui''s sudden death, she didn''t need anymore.


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    Kakashi was silent for several long moments as he digested everything that she''d said. While his heart was warmed by her appreciation, his mind was far more focused on this titanic piece of his village''s dirty laundry. He didn''t doubt her words for a second. Suicide was never Shisui''s style. Cold blooded, ruthless murderer wasn''t the kind of person Itachi was. He''d known both of them for years, hell he''d led Itachi as a member of his squad when he''d first joined ANBU, he knew him well. He didn''t doubt her at all. Everything made sense to him, much to his displeasure. His long years in service as an ANBU Black Ops meant that he was intimately familiar with the laundry list of crimes and horrors the Leaf had hidden behind closed doors. He knew it wasn''t the kind and caring place the youngsters thought it was. It pained him to learn this truth, but he believed it.


    "I- I... see... I believe you, Narumi. I know the kind of man Danzo is, he''s tried to get his hands on me too. I''m sorry this has happened to you." He said to her.


    "I appreciate it, you believing me. So... what happens now?" She asked him.


    "You should leave this place. No one knows that I left the capitol, but if you hang around too long, some of the others might find you. I know you''re fighting to stay alive, and I know what that requires. I won''t hold it against you, the deaths of my comrades. I wish I could do something to help you, but I can''t. We both know that even if he knew the truth, the Fourth Hokage likely wouldn''t call off his ninja. He can''t afford to be seen as lenient in the face of this, and Five Leaf shinobi are dead now. I don''t know what''ll happen if he gets his hands on you. At best you''ll end up in a cell for several years until they can ''rehabilitate'' you. I don''t want that for you, I don''t want to see you get hurt anymore." Kakashi said to her, almost imploring her to get away from this all.


    "Thanks, Kakashi, you don''t have to worry. I''m planning on leaving this land behind. No one is gonna find me where I''m going." She assured him. Kakashi blinked but then let out a sigh of relief.


    "You''re going to use the same method Remus does to come and go? Good. Leave this place Narumi, find peace, make a life for yourself. Find happiness, you deserve it, more than anyone I know, you deserve to be happy." Kakashi said to her.


    "Thanks, Kakashi. I will... for Shisui... I''ve gotta live for the both of us." She replied.


    "He''d be proud of you, Narumi. I know he would. Wherever you find yourself, be safe." Kakashi offered to her.


    "You too." She responded.


    "Goodbye." He said to her, hopeful that when next they met, it would still be as friends.


    "Goodbye, Kakashi." She returned as she watched him leave.


    She knew she was unlikely to see him ever again, but she was happy for the chance to see him one more time and say goodbye.


    She turned and headed off in the opposite direction. She still had some time left until Gringotts would be done with her portkey, and it was best not to stay here.


    She made it about half a mile, when someone appeared in her path.


    Another masked figure, this one she was also familiar with.


    "Narumi Namikaze. Nice mask." Obito Uchiha spoke, still with the voice of her grandfather.


    "What the hell do you want. You know with my powers, I can escape you, and there''s nothing you can do to stop me." She said to him.


    "Oh I know. Kamui is undoubtedly one of the strongest powers the Mangekyou can bestow upon us. You were lucky to obtain it. Still, I didn''t come here to fight. I''ve been looking for you." Obito said to her.


    "I''m sure." She growled at him.


    "There''s something I wished to speak to you about. I overheard your conversation with Hatake. You told him the truth about what happened that night, commendable. I thought it was about time someone shared that same level of honesty with you." Obito stated, she could see his Sharingan staring at her intently from beneath the shadow of his mask, her own matched it.


    "Sharing truth? Alright bastard, I''ll bite. What truth?" Riley threw back at him, knowing she wasn''t anywhere close to ready to face this man.


    "The truth about you, that is. About your mother." Obito answered.


    "My... mother? What about her?" Riley blinked in confusion.


    "I had my suspicions, but after facing you, I knew it was true. You were ''her'' child." Obito began, earning confusion from Riley.


    "What are you talking about?" She asked him.


    "My attack on the Leaf village over eight years ago. The Nine Tailed Fox. I was able to control the Fox with the power of my Sharingan. Though that still leaves the question, where did I acquire the Fox?" Obito continued.


    She eyed him with uncertainty as she waited for him to continue, Madara as well, was listening along.


    "You aren''t the first Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails. It had two others before you. The first was Mito Uzumaki, the wife of the First Hokage." Obito explained.


    "She is also your great aunt. She was my wife''s younger sister." Madara added in.


    "She held it only briefly until Hashirama finished constructing a temple to house the Great Beast and keep it pacified. It remained there until after his death. Eventually it would be removed at the orders of the Third Hokage and the advice of Lady Mito. The Leaf needed a weapon after all, so a Jinchuriki was chosen. Lady Mito''s own great-granddaughter, Kushina Uzumaki. The grandchild of the youngest of their three children. She was nearly a full blooded Uzumaki, even had their signature red hair and violet eyes. She was the one who secretly carried the Nine Tailed Fox all of these years. The Hidden Leaf Village''s secret weapon." Obito laid it out for her.


    "What does she have to do with my mother?" Riley asked him.


    "She is your mother." Obito answered directly.


    "What?" Riley blinked at that.


    "You heard me. Kushina Uzumaki is, or sadly, was your real mother. She had a very close personal relationship with you father, helped to teach him in sealing, and he became her protector on many of their missions. They grew close, though he chose Lily Evans in the end, it was always up in the air about how close the two had gotten with one another. You see... I know the truth. Though he did not choose Kushina as his wife, that did not mean he didn''t choose her. Lily Evans you see, is sick. She has an illness, a magical one that prevents her from having children. Causes her magic to attack the embryo resulting in a miscarriage. Horrific to go through from what I''ve heard. With help from Tsunade they learned that there was a strong chance that Lily could still mother a child, just so long as it didn''t have Lily''s magic. Desperate to prevent her husband from leaving her and knowing of his close bond and affection for Kushina, it was Lily who suggested that they approach her with an offer. Lily knew how close the two were and had always suspected something deeper was shared between them, perhaps in the past, perhaps even now. Minato may have chosen her, but that love was not unconditional. He needed children, he wanted them, and Lily had to provide, or she risked losing him. So, she convinced him to approach Kushina, and allow her to be the doner. You see... a ritual exists in magic, one that Lily knew about and later learned alongside Tsunade, that allows for the safe transfer, along with magical and blood adoption of a fetus from one person to another. They intended to perform this ritual on Kushina. The idea was, that by using a bit of sex magic, parts of Lily''s DNA could be mirrored onto the child, replacing some of Kushina''s. In essence, the resulting child would have three genetic donors. They could then transfer the baby which would only have Lily''s DNA and not her magic, to her womb so she could carry it to term, and birth it. Kushina agreed to their proposal on the condition that they performed all of the needed elements the ''old fashioned way''. As it were. She''d get the chance to actually be with the man she no doubt loved, and they''d get the child they wanted." Obito explained it all for her. Riley felt her mouth fall open and go dry as he began explaining. The more he spoke and the more complex this became, the more she started to believe him.


    "It was a half-step for Kushina, but she was likely desperate. Minato was ''reluctant'' to agree, at least in front of his wife, but Lily had resigned herself to it, despite her jealousy. So, they did the deed, as many times as it took for Kushina to become pregnant, and upon the appointed day, she fulfilled her obligation and passed over the child to Lily. All went swimmingly. A job well done. That is, until Kushina continued to show signs of developing pregnancy. Her doctor revealed that she was still pregnant, and overjoyed as she was, she wanted to keep this one. She figured there wouldn''t be any issue, she was more than happy to pretend the child belonged to someone else, and all of this talk of children reminded her of the family she no longer had. She wished for a family of her own, and now she had it. So she hid the truth from Minato and Lily for as long as she could. Once she started showing signs though, they had no choice but to question her on it, and she revealed the truth. It came to be learned that Kushina had conceived twins, and the ritual had only taken one of the two children, not both. A storm of emotions was shared between them. Lily was furious at the whole situation, her jealousy swiftly returning. Minato was angry, confused and disappointed with Kushina''s dishonesty, and Kushina herself was desperate to hold onto this child, hoping beyond hope that she could keep it, that they wouldn''t demand she hand it over to Lily. It was Lady Mito''s intervention though, that led to things turning out how they did. She revealed something to them at that moment. A truth that none of them knew. You see, there is a certain danger for female Jinchuriki when they are pregnant. Chakra that is meant to power the seal containing their respective Tailed Beast gets siphoned off to the baby. As a result, the Seal weakens bit by bit, the longer the pregnancy occurs, all the way up to the moment of birth. At that moment, the seal is at its weakest, and the mother is consumed by pain, and stress, and emotion. The Tailed Beast within has its best chance of escaping at that moment." Obito continued with his narrative, all the while Narumi hung on his every word.


    "What was left to do? They couldn''t transfer Kushina''s baby to Lily, she was already too far along, and the shock of placing a child already so far along inside of her would likely cause great harm to Lily and kill both children in the process. So, what remained? Kill the child, or let her have it, and risk the village. Kushina naturally wanted to keep the baby, again promising to raise it herself and keep to herself, she''d never tell anyone who the child''s father was, or infringe on the Hokage''s life, it could just be their secret. The problem was, Kushina was no ordinary shinobi. She was the Leaf''s Jinchuriki. She needed to remain in tip-top condition and be ready for deployment at a moment''s notice. This pregnancy was already showing its detriments as it stole more and more time from her training and allowed her skills to dull. It would already be a few weeks after the pregnancy to recover and begin training again, but to raise the child? That would be a full-time job. No... if the baby lived, then someone else had to raise it. Kushina simply couldn''t be the one to do it. She raged against that idea, but Mito rightly pointed out that it was the truth. She was the village''s weapon, she needed to be in the best possible condition in the event that she needed to be used. Playing mother would ultimately weaken the village''s ability to defend itself, so it couldn''t be done. Kushina fought tooth and nail, but ultimately the Hokage, the Elders, Lady Mito and Lily, none of them would listen. So desperate in fact was she to have a family again, to have this child, that her rage began sparking a reaction. Even now the seal had weakened significantly, and Kushina was a woman known for her temper. Before she even realized what was happening, she was surrounded by blood red chakra and beginning to run amok. Thankfully Minato was able to teleport her beyond the borders of the village to stop anyone from seeing the outburst, but it took a great deal of effort to restrain the enraged Jinchuriki and at its end Kushina was left unconscious. After seeing her reaction and knowing that the village would be placed in great peril if Kushina was left to her own devices, it was decided to place her in a medically induced Coma for the remainder of the pregnancy. After it had ended, and she''d given birth, the Yamanaka Clan would be brought in, to rewrite Kushina''s memories of the whole affair, erasing all evidence of the pregnancy itself. She''d never know that it happened." Obito carried on, watching her closely as he explained everything, analyzing her reaction.


    "What happened to her?" Riley asked, her voice barely above a whisper.


    "I held no ill will against Kushina Uzumaki, but she had something I needed. She awoke from her coma for only a few moments to give birth to you. Dazed and confused, she was unable to resist when I came for her and stole her away from the prepared birthing chamber. I released the Fox from within her, inflicting a mortal would by removing that dense collection of Chakra. I intended to have the Nine Tails finish her off, but Minato arrived just in time to save her. A part of me suspected it was so that he could seal the Fox back inside of her, which, theoretically could have saved her life, especially if they had Lady Tsunade around. Considering you no Carry part of the Fox and your sister the other part, that tells me that he made a different decision. Without sealing the Fox back into her, there was no hope for Kushina''s survival. She died that night, all those years ago, you likely being the last thing she saw. Minato no doubt granting her that final kindness, before the end." Obito finished explained what had happened, tears of pain streamed from Riley''s eyes, as she took what he said and used it to answer all of the questions of her life.


    Why did her parents hate her? She was the child they didn''t want. They were just stuck with her. For Minato, she was a reminder of an old flame that he''d likely loved and lost, and for Lily, she was a reminder of the woman her husband loved so very dearly, and to whom she owed the very life of her own precious daughter. Lily had been jealous of Kushina, and despite the twins being full twins as they carried all three of the same genetic donors from the same conception, she saw one as her daughter, and one as Kushina''s. She hated Kushina, and so she hated Riley.


    "So that''s it? That''s why they hate me? Some stupid drama from the past? A mother who can''t let go of her jealousy towards a dead woman, and a father who... I don''t even know what his problem is. Why did you tell me this?" She questioned him, glaring hatefully at the man.


    "You deserved to know. All your life you''ve wondered, haven''t you? And now you know the truth. I don''t expect it''ll change things between us. As one of the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails we are destined to come into conflict with each other, and yet still, knowing the truth was important. It was important that you knew what they tried to keep hidden, and why you were destined to walk alone in this world." Obito said to her.


    She was quiet for several long moments, caught on the verge of heartbreak. Finally, tears spilled from her eyes as she toppled over it, a realization settling in her mind. "Even if everything you said had come to pass. Even if they stole her memories, and I was raised like I was, she''d still be alive. She''d be out there, and I could go and find her. Because of you though... because of you, my mother is dead. Because of you, this truth leaves me with nothing, but this burning hollow feeling in my chest. The only catharsis I get from any of this, is that one day, I''ll avenge my mother for all the wrongs brought upon her. Minato, Lily, Mito Uzumaki, the elders, The Third Hokage, the Council, the Village. She suffered for and because of them! I will never forgive any of them for that! But you, Obito Uchiha... you killed her! YOU! KILLED! HER!" Riley roared with inhuman, hellish malice.


    Hearing his name spoken, Obito was momentarily stunned. How did she know that? How did she know who he was?


    -Inside of Riley''s Mindscape-


    Deep within Riley''s body, her rage boiled, igniting the magic in her veins like hellfire.


    Within a metaphysical cage, a great demon slumbered. Her rage hammered against the cage, lashing it like an unbridled storm. Slowly, the Fox opened its eyes.


    In a moment, it rationalized its position, and where it was. A moment later recalling the events that led it to this point. A second more, and it viewed the life of its newest host, watching through the short life of Narumi Namikaze, up to this moment.


    "Madara... you...!" It began.


    "Not now Fox! Your awakening has little bearing on what is about to happen. Save your snarls for later." Madara threw back at the great beast, his disembodied voice coming from beyond the boundaries of the cage.


    "Impudent bastard! Damn you! What I wouldn''t give to rip you limb from limb! You''re right though, this fight may just prove interesting. If only I had my power, I could lend her some so she could tear that wretched copycat apart!" The Fox snarled in rage.


    "Oh, poor little foxxxx..." Came another voice. Though he had no body, and existed only as a voice, the Fox could detect Madara reacting to the sound of the voice as well.


    "What is that?" Madara questioned.


    The Fox was silent for a moment as it tried to reach out with its senses. In an instant the Fox felt his whole body tense as fear lanced through him.


    "Wh-What are you?" The Fox questioned. The Nine Tailed Fox was a gifted sensor, arguably the best of the Tailed Beasts. His senses were specifically tuned and yet had a near limitless range. This power was called Negative Emotion Sensing, and it allowed the Fox to sense negative emotions, familiarize them to a specific magic, and then track and recall that specific combo anywhere in the world. If the Fox had met you once, it would always be able to find you again, because of this power. When he tried to reach out to this unknown voice, he was struck by the darkest, and most vile emotions it had ever felt. Pure evil were the only words to describe this unknown entity.


    "No time for that nowww... This one, he speaks the truth to force her to commit, to keep her from running. He intends to capture her. Mustn''t allow it. Allow meee... Foxxxx..." The twisted and hellish voice spoke.


    "What?!" The Fox began, only to feel this unseen voice reach out to it. Like tendrils of ice rapping around its soul, it felt the intrusion of this unknown thing. It was a violating, penetrative act, that felt all kinds of wrong to the ancient beast, and yet.


    The Fox''s eyes snapped open, it felt power coursing into it. Torrents of raw power. Not what it what had, nowhere close, and yet...


    "Do what needs to be done! Do as you said! Let this weak little boy finally joy his beloved in the pits of hellll!"The twisted voice spoke.


    Madara watched on, unable to do anything to halt or impede this. All he could do was watch. What was this thing? What was this alien, demonic, nightmare that had manifested itself in his granddaughter seemingly out of nowhere?


    "This thing... its powers are vast. I''ve never felt such evil before." The Fox spoke.


    "What is it?" Madara asked.


    "I do not know, something ancient, something... powerful. The answer will come in time, for now though... I shall not waste this opportunity!" The Fox spoke, finishing with a mighty roar, that unleashed a blast of demonic chakra, flooding Riley''s veins with it.


    -Outside-


    Obito watched her rage consume her. He knew now that she wouldn''t try and run off. All he had to do now was outlast her. He knew the limits of Kamui far better than she did, and he had a plan to overwhelm her usage of it.


    He stopped when he spotted something odd. His Sharingan, able to perceive chakra, spotted a red flame ignite in her belly, at the origin point of the seal. It then began to spread, flooding throughout her chakra network.


    "Impossible! She shouldn''t have any of it''s chakra!" Obito thought in disbelief as Riley unleashed a scream of rage, that caused demonic chakra to explode out of her. Wind raced by him, flooding the forest with a gale-like winds.


    In an instant, she began her attack.


    The ground exploded beneath her feet as she rocketed towards him. She aimed a flying kick at his chest which missed completely as she passed right through him.


    She landed on all fours, her movements becoming erratic, more bestial as a red aura of chakra burned around.


    She turned and launched at him again, clawing and kicking at her, trying to tear him to pieces.


    "You know such attacks have no effect on me. This may have been a surprise, but it changes nothing." Obito spoke, allowing her attacks to casually pass through him.


    "The light... call upon the light! Use yoouur eye. The light connects to all reality. The light wiiilll be his undo-ing." A dark and hellish voice growled into her ears. At any other moment she would have been scared out of her mind, hearing something like that, but in her current state, consumed by rage, her only response was to try it''s suggestion.


    In her hand, a blade of yellow light appeared, she cut at him, a strike he lazily side stepped, barely attempting a dodge as he allowed it to pass through him, and pass through him it did, just not in the way he expected.


    A sharp pain shot up his arm, and he quickly hopped away. He landed several meters back and glanced at his arm. A cut was there, a cut through his robes, and down to the flesh. A thin trickle of blood drained out of the wound which began to heal. Normally such a small cut would have healed in mere moments, but in this case, it was much slower, still visible to the naked eye, but a think occurring over minutes instead of seconds.


    "What? Did I mistime that dodge? There''s no way..." Obito thought to himself, turning his gaze back to her, only to see the yellow blade spiraling through the air at him as she threw it.


    He turned sideways and dodged it, allowing the blade to slowly pass by him. He raised his arm, just enough to allow the spinning blade to catch the cloth of his robes, which should be safely in Kamui, he watched in slow motion as the blade cut through the cloth as it sailed by.


    "Impossible! That attack was able to strike me inside of Kamui." Obito realized, as a cold tinge of fear shot up his spine.


    He turned to her once more. He couldn''t see her face behind her red and black mask, but he could tell she''d been watching him and had observed the same thing he had. He didn''t need to see her face to know that a hellish grin now stretched across it.


    Instantly, a dozen red shuriken appeared between her fingers which she sent sailing at him.


    Obito began dodging as she created another set to send after him, and then another, and another. She found it so easy, the strain wasn''t there. There was so much power coursing through her.


    Inside of her mind, Madara continued to observe, surprised that the weapons created by Amatsumara could actually strike Obito even in Kamui.


    "How is this possible?" He questioned aloud.


    "The Pocket World of his eyes seeks to hold true to reality. That adherence makes it vulnerable to the manipulation of universal forces. The Light exists here, and it exists there. Whether he is here or there, the Light too exists. She recognizes his power. That understanding, joined with the Light''s reality, means that it will strike him, if he allows it to hit." The dark and twisted voice spoke in answer.


    "A universal force. Light? The constructs of Amatsumara are made of light? Kamui is a dimension that always attempts to adhere to the reality surrounding the user. It tries to obey the concepts surrounding it. Light exists here, and so it exists there. It also is tied to her awareness. She knows what Kamui is, she knows how he''s going to try and avoid her attacks. Because of that awareness of the Kamui dimension, the light can strike him if it passes through him, even if he''s partially in the other dimension. Meaning if she lacked that awareness or encountered another form of intangibility that she didn''t understand, then her constructs couldn''t then strike it. I see. Already this power was one of the most versatile abilities I''d ever encountered, but knowing this, it''s approaching the likes of Izanagi in regard to its usefulness." Madara rationalized the entity''s explanation.


    "Iiiit is a power limited only by imagination... One day she will shape reality itself with it." The unknown voice spoke.


    "The power to shape reality, just like the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Huh... I guess I was right... she will be the one to reshape this world of ours. But the world she builds... it will be real." Madara realized, as his focus returned to the fight.


    Obito continued to dodge the onslaught of red shuriken, intermingled with a few yellow ones as well.


    He dodged them all, avoiding any further damage. He was retreating from her, racing away as she chased him. He kept his eyes on her, avoiding the incoming attacks thanks to his speed and his Sharingan.


    His focus was one her, and so he did not see when a wall of red energy appeared behind him and he ran right into it.


    He let out a growl of annoyance as he took note of the wall.


    "Not just limited to weapons, eh?" He earmarked for later. "Wait, how did this get in front of me?"


    His answer came when two swords, one of red energy and one of yellow appeared above him on either side, angled down towards him. In an instant they were accelerated at him by an unseen force. He dove forward into a roll to avoid the two blades as Riley came to a halt a dozen meters away.


    He caught sight of them, forming around him, blades of red, and yellow energy in all shapes of forms. They appeared and launched at him, one by one. He dodged, dancing about as the blades appeared faster and faster and faster.


    "So much power, so easy!" Riley realized. She felt indestructible, her stores of energy near limitless. She had no idea where she was getting this strength from and at the moment she didn''t care. She''d never even come close to this level of control over Amatsumara though calling in control was a falsehood. This had nothing to do with control, it was all power. She was simply pumping out so much power that the control no longer mattered. It also didn''t really matter how fine-tuned or precise her creations were, they just needed to exist to perform their task.


    Obito move as fast as he could, dodged and dancing around the blades, trying to avoid being struck. His robes were cut, and he felt the energy weapons cut and nick his flesh. He was growing more and more worried and angry. How was she doing this? Why was it having so much of an effect on him? Where was she getting this power from? He''d come here with a perfectly laid plan to ensure she didn''t run away, and here he was on the defensive, fighting to stay alive, desperately trying to escape this storm so that he could run away and escape fully into Kamui.


    "I''m sweating. This child! Minato''s wretched spawn, is actually making me sweat!" Obito realized as he felt his worry and anger continue to grow. It was like every tiny bolt of pain that he felt, furthered these emotions. None were more than nuisances and yet each one seemed to have a visceral reaction to him. Was it pride? Was he simply so used to being untouchable that he was reacting this way now? His nerves were becoming more frayed, as he envisioned her face beneath the mask. He could almost see it, a wide grin splitting her face in two, filled with far too many teeth. He felt his heart beginning to pound in his ears, a reality that stung at him more and more as it grew louder and louder.


    His rage was growing as well, the idea of capturing her falling to wayside. If he got through this, he''d kill her, tear her limb from limb. He''d break every bone in her tiny little body and force her to crawl for his amusement.


    So many weapons and tools flooded the air, were he any other shinobi, were he without the Sharingan, this onslaught would have killed him.


    Every time he saw an opening to advance through the storm, he found himself taking it, despite his desire to retreat. Every time he saw an avenue of retreat, he took it, despite his desire to murder her. His mind was fracturing, splitting in two, fear and rage. Both were building within him when suddenly, a realization struck him.


    "I''m being poisoned! These weapons, some kind of chakra poison perhaps. The rage, the fear, the anxiety, every cut, every scratch she''s infecting me with these toxins." Obito realized.


    Focusing his Sharingan he watched as a red axe went sailing by him, he stared into it as it sailed by. Within the crimson red of its structure, he could almost make out images of himself. The slaughter of every person he hated, reflected like fractal images within the structure of the axe. He could see himself killing Minato, and Kakashi, and this bastard girl, he could see them all dying at his hands. His eyes flickered to a yellow sword that lanced by him. In it, he saw Riley''s grinning face. That hellish, inhuman face. That grin with too many teeth.


    He felt a very real chill wash over him.


    He dropped low to the ground, speeding through hand signs as he did. "Wood Style: Great Tree Spear!"


    He slammed his palms into the ground, just as a yellow knife sailed a quarter inch past his left ear. From all around him, tree branches erupted, causing Riley to cease her assault in surprise and back away as the branches grew thick and upwards, twisting and forming a wall around Obito separating him from her view.


    Within the cover he''d made, Obito took the opportunity and activated Kamui retreating from the battlefield before he absorbed more the poison. He needed to rethink things. He needed to get his head back on straight. He far outclassed her, but if she managed to turn him into a raving lunatic torn between all-consuming rage, and crippling fear, then he''d be easy pickings. She had caught him by surprise with all of this, and now he had to rethink everything. Escaping with his life was a victory in and of itself. She couldn''t surprise him with these things again.


    Riley spent the better part of two full minutes pounding her fists into the bark of the wooden walls, angrily growling at Obito''s escape. The power that had once flourished inside of her body, began to fade and drain out of her, and she was starting to feel more tired than she ever had in her life.


    "Hey, before you pass out, you should probably go into Kamui Leaf shinobi and people from the capital might have sensed the fight, and they could be here any moment. You don''t want to lose consciousness here." Madara warned her.


    Riley let out a growl, and gave the wooden wall one final punch, bloodying her knuckles a bit more before doing as instructed.


    She didn''t truly grasp how tired she was until she appeared in her Kamui dimension and instantly passed out, the left side of her face stained red with blood from her abundant use of Amatsumara. She fell into a dreamless sleep, and wouldn''t awaken for almost twelve hours.


    When she did, she found her body heavily fatigued and she felt more or less like crap.


    "Using the power of a Tailed Beast for the first time is an incredibly taxing endeavor. It''ll take some getting used too." Madara expressed to her upon awakening.


    "Is that what happened? I don''t even know. I just felt this unspeakable power rush into me. I felt like I could do anything." Riley said in response, sitting alone in the darkness of her pocket dimension.


    "That power may have come from me, but it wasn''t my power. It was shaped into my power, but it came from somewhere else." Came another voice, startling Riley.


    "Who''s that?" She questioned.


    "The Fox is awake; your outburst seems to have finally jarred him from his slumber. Him and something else..." Madara answered.


    "What does that mean?" Riley asked.


    "It means you have more than one demon living inside of you, brat." The Fox answered.


    "I do? How did that happen?" She questioned.


    "No idea, and your asshole grandfather isn''t much help in that department either. Nothing in your memories indicates when you picked this thing up, but it had to be a long time ago. Whatever it is, it''s like it''s contained within an egg. It''s not awake yet, or at least not fully awake, but it is conscious. It seems to be sleeping right now. If I had to guess, the death of your friend Shisui woke this thing up, but it can only manifest at times when your anger reaches its peak." The Fox said to her.


    "When my anger reaches its peak... yeah..." Riley hummed thoughtfully as she remembered what all Obito had said to her.


    "In case you were wondering, he was telling the truth. I lived inside of Kushina for most of her life. Though it loathes me to involve myself in lowly human affairs, I can confirm that he was accurate in his retelling of events. He was also accurate in that Kushina yearned for a baby of her own. A child to raise. She wanted a family, more than anything else. Those things were very much true." The Fox offered to her, causing fresh tears to spill from Riley''s eyes as she cursed the world for cheating her out of having a loving mother.


    "Damn them all, damn that Obito, damn why can''t I stop crying!" Riley snapped in frustration.


    "Because you''re in pain, my dear. It happens, even to the best of us. Let it out. Allow yourself to feel that pain. Take it and grow stronger from it. Let these fresh wounds to your heart, heal over and make you stronger." Madara said to her. A bitter pill to swallow, but she knew he was right.


    So, as much as she hated herself for it, she cried. She sat there, alone in the void, and cried her eyes out.


    An hour passed before she was ready to talk more, to try and take her mind off of wondering about every possible scenario for her life had her mother lived.


    "Hey Fox, uh thanks for telling me that. Confirming it I mean. If you don''t mind, maybe sometime, can I ask about her?" Riley inquired.


    "You''re asking me?" The Fox queried.


    "Well yeah, it''s only polite to ask people for things, or to make sure they''re alright with helping. Just assuming is what gets you in trouble." She responded.


    "Hmm... your remarkably more polite that I would have thought you''d be having this prick living in your head." The Fox noted, causing Riley to choke on her next words as she stifled a snort of amusement.


    "Ah, your opinion of me means the world Fox." Madara hummed.


    "So, you two know each other?" Riley guessed.


    "We have a history." Madara answered back with a metaphorical shrug.


    "History. This impudent little whelp used those accursed eyes to control me and had me fight the First Hokage for him. By my reckoning he''s the reason I''ve been locked inside of Jinchuriki for thirty plus years." The Fox snapped back.


    "Oh, that makes sense then. I''d say I''m sorry for that, but I get the feeling that would just be patronizing." Riley surmised. Obito had managed to control the fox with his Sharingan so it didn''t surprise her to learn that her grandfather had too.


    "Hmm... well you''re certainly more insightful than your mother ever was." The Fox hummed, causing Riley to blanch.


    "Um..."


    "Yes, she was an airhead. A lot like Naruko actually. It''s weird, she gave birth to you but you''re more like your father, meanwhile Lily gave birth to Naruko and yet she''s almost a carbon copy of Kushina." The Fox stated, causing Riley to let out a grunt of annoyance.


    "Well... That''s something, I guess. Still, you didn''t answer my question from before. Is it alright if I ask about my mother?" Riley steered the conversation back towards the original topic.


    "You''ll have to earn it. If you wanna know about her, you''ll need to earn it." The Fox said to her.


    "Earn it, how?" She wondered.


    "You possess the Rinnegan. I''ve seen it in your memories. You have the ability to awaken those eyes. If there''s one thing in this world, I will not allow it is for those eyes to fall into the hands of a weak-minded, weak-willed, runt, to be used and abused without a care in the world. Those eyes mean something, and those blessed to carry them should carry that legacy with far more dignity than even the greatest amongst you wretched kind." The Fox said to her, its tone leaving no room for doubt that it held those eyes in high regard.


    "These eyes mean a lot to you Fox..." Riley noted.


    "They were the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, my father. I will not tolerate disrespect to them, nor to the legacy carried within. Those are the eyes of God, and nothing short of a god should wield them. If you want me to tell you about your mother, then you''ll be worthy of those eyes. You''ll wield them with a level of fortitude and commitment your kind is rarely capable of. I care not what you do with them, good or ill, but you will be worthy of them. When people speak of you, and those eyes, and they place you in the category of the Sage himself, you better damn well be worthy of it. The Sage was the best of you, and though humans have long spat on his memory and forsaken his gifts, I will at the very least guarantee that when people see those eyes and see a reflection of that great man, they remember that they were nothing compared to him. That they are insects by comparison, and nothing more. I don''t ask you to live up to his legacy, I demand that you rise out of his shadow and prove that their stories come nowhere close to the truth. That is my price, child. Remind the world what true power is, that all that they are now was born of the foundations that he set, and that even after all this time, all of their so-called progress, with terrifying ease, it can all be stripped away. That is what it will cost you. To surpass them all and show the world the true power of magic." The Fox commanded her, setting forth its offer for her.


    "Alright then. That''s what I intended to do anyway, to be the best I can be. I guess I''ll just have to aim for better than even that." She responded, more than happy to accept its deal in order to get what she wanted.


    "Not so concerned with making deals with demons. Unwise, but in this case, better for me. Alright then child, we have a deal." The Fox offered to her.


    "So, now we discuss what happened before." Madara stated.


    "Yeah, what was that? Where did all that power come from? You said another presence was inside of me?" Riley inquired, "And how was Amatsumara able to strike Obito even with Kamui?"


    "Well first we''ll talk about the latter. I now understand a bit more about Amatsumara, the technique is using light, that''s what makes up the constructs you create, they''re objects made from light itself. As for the reason why, it was able to strike at Obito in Kamui, the answer is that the light created is using a higher form of magic, and controlling a universal force, one that also exists within Kamui. That, tied to your understanding of the technique and how it works, means that you can strike him, even when he''s using Kamui. It''s your awareness, coupled with the fact that you''re using a type of power that goes beyond chakra, or ordinary magic. If you were lacking one or the other, it would have never worked, but because the specifics, it did." Madara explained to her.


    "Wow... light huh? Using light itself as a weapon, that''s pretty incredible. I managed to create a new color too, yellow. I wonder what that''s about?" She hummed thoughtfully.


    "It''s fear." The Fox spoke.


    "Fear?" Riley repeated.


    "Yeah. The color of the light, it corresponds with emotion. I can sense emotions, the red constructs emanated rage, and anger, and hatred. Dark and vile it reminds me of demonic chakra. The yellow constructs were filled with fear, unease, trauma, and nightmares. It''s why he began reacting erratically, moving in opposition to himself. Just like how the red constructs can infect victims with rage, the yellow ones can infect them with fear." The Fox explained to them.


    "Yeah... that makes sense. But he wasn''t nearly as affected as other people were." She noted.


    "Remember that half of his body is comprised of Hashirama''s cells. He has accelerated healing. It means that the infections brought on by these weapons can be blunted, and possibly even healed. We shall see if Obito recovers or not to know the truth." Madara reminded her.


    "Huh... Okay. And that power, that came from the other entity, that it gave to you." Riley questioned the fox.


    "Yeah. It''s a demon I think, like me, but far more natural. I am an artificial creation, made by the Sage, this Demon is a natural existence, its powers are vast. Less concentrated than my own, but arguably greater. It linked the two of us together and channeled its powers into me, and I passed those powers into you in order to help you kill that rotten Obito. Though it has returned to slumber, it''s powers have begun rebuilding my demonic core, my magical network. Given enough time I''ll be back to my old self." The Fox laid it out for them.


    "Why is it doing that? No offense but aren''t demons evil?" Riley asked him.


    "They are, from most people''s point of view. Demons are more instinctual creatures than anything else. So, this being might be a fiend or a devil, and before you ask the differences are simple, demons are like animals, and the stronger ones, like me, are more like natural disasters. Were it not for the way I was made by the sage, I wouldn''t be as intelligent and articulate as I am. Demons with my level of intelligence are very rare. Fiends are the middle ground, think barbarians or tribals. Half-way to savage but the ability to grasp the full breath human intellect. And devils are the smart ones, geniuses, master strategists. They''re the guys who are always five moves ahead. All of them can collectively fall under the umbrella of just being demons, but there is a distinction, and it matters in knowing what you''re dealing with. This thing may very well be a fiend or a devil, it''s level of control in repairing the damage done to me, even while it sleeps signifies a heightened level of control, so I''m leaning more towards devil. As for the why, I think it wants me to help protect you." The Fox answered her.


    "Protect me, why would it want to do that?" Riley wondered.


    "I do not know, as I don''t know it''s nature or even what it really is. Its emotions are some of the blackest I''ve ever seen, yet there is some manner of light there. It has a great fondness, affection, perhaps even love, for you child, and I don''t know why. Regardless of the answer, I believe that is why it''s trying to fix me, so that I can help protect you." Came the response from the Nine Tails.


    Riley had no response to that, as it was clear her companions had no idea what it was either. It was a mystery, and one she hoped to solve one day, for now though, she was left only to speculate.


    "Okay... well I guess we''ll just have to wait for this thing to wake up again to learn more." Riley thought.


    "An astute observation child." The Fox agreed.


    "Yeah... alright, well then, I''m sure my portkey is ready. Time to leave this land behind. Once I find a new place to call home, we can start our training Fox." Riley said to him.


    "Training? What makes you think I intend to train you?" The Fox responded with a huff.


    "Well you want me to be stronger and learn to master the powers of the Rinnegan. I can learn things from Grandfather Madara, but I figured you''d also want to train me and make sure I''m on the right path." Riley replied to him.


    "What makes you think I know anything about your human magics to teach you anything." The Fox countered.


    "You may not know anything, but you lived inside of Kushina for most of her life. I''m sure she was an exceptional shinobi, being one of Hashirama''s grandchildren." Madara countered.


    "Alright, fair enough. I''ll teach you the things that Kushina knew, and if I regain my powers you''ll have to learn how to fight as a Jinchuriki, so I guess there are things for me to show you. Fine, but don''t expect me to be a kind teacher. I expect all of your effort in learning what I have to teach, I won''t waste my time if you''re just going to slack off." The Fox finally consented.


    "Yes sir! I''d never slack off when it comes to training. I won''t disappoint you." Riley offered with enthusiasm.


    "Well, you''re certainly a spunky little twerp I''ll give you that. Still, if I''m going to teach you anything then I have a few rules you need to follow. Firstly, I''m not your pet, or your servant, I''m stuck inside your body, against my will, and if you screw around and disrespect me than the time comes, I get my power back, I won''t hesitate to tear my way out of you. Secondly, I never lie, and I don''t expect it from you either. You want to lie to others go ahead, but you don''t lie to me. And finally, I expect you to appreciate me taking the time to do this. You humans are less than worthless to me by and large, so helping you out is going beyond the measure for me. Follow my rules, and treat me with respect, and in turn I''ll show you the same." The Fox instructed her.


    "Yes sir. One question though?" Riley inquired.


    "What is it?" The Fox responded.


    "Well, do you have a name?" Riley asked him.


    "A name?" The Fox replied with surprise.


    "Yeah, Nine-Tailed Fox isn''t a name, it''s a tittle. It''s what you are, not who you are. If we''re gonna show each other equal respect, then it''s only right that I ask for your name." Riley clarified.


    The Fox was silent for several long moments as he considered that. Only one human had ever asked him for his name. Only one had ever considered that the Fox could even have a name or cared enough to ask, and that had been the First Hokage. Hearing his newest host ask for his name, it left him feeling a bit off.


    Several more moments passed by before her answered. "Kurama. My name is Kurama."


    "Kurama. Okay. Thanks Kurama, for your help against Obito. I''m not sure what would have happened without it." she said to him, again causing him to blink in surprise.


    "This girl... I would have thought, given her life that she''d be more like Madara, but she has a lot of Hashirama in her too. Maybe this won''t be so bad. If nothing else, she''ll keep things interesting for a while." Kurama thought to himself.


    "Yeah yeah, don''t get all sappy on me. Let''s just get this show on the road." The Fox hummed dismissively, earning a snort of amusement from Madara which served only to irk the ancient beast.


    Riley agreed and used Kamui to exit near to the entrance of the bank. It was near to closing time so she quickly snuck inside and acquired her portkey, which would be taking her to Germany, which was the furthest place in Europe it could reach.


    She wasted no time and quickly departed, using the Portkey travel to the foreign land, finally escaping the confines of the Elemental Nations and beginning her new life. She had a new companion in Kurama, and a new mystery to explore in this unknown demon living inside of her. All things to explore, for now, she needed to find a place to live, so with that, she set to work finding her bearings and exploring her new home.


    -To be Continued-

 Friendships born

    Riley stared out over the skyline of Paris; she''d found herself an apartment to rent, and had settled into her new home. It was easy pull off, a simple Transformation Jutsu was all that was needed to fool the muggles.


    It had been nearly a full month since she arrived in Europe, and she''d been busy learning local languages and finding a place to live. She eventually chose Paris, as she fell for its beauty and art. It was a lovely place and had a thriving magical populace, so it wasn''t hard to walk between both worlds and experience them both. After arriving she had all of her money converted to the local currency, and once she had her apartment, she turned her focus to training.


    Each day from dusk to dawn she went into Kamui and trained there. Either Madara or Kurama would drill her on new items of interest. With both of their ability to project images into her mind, showing her their memories, or in Kurama''s case, Kushina''s memories, allowed for Riley to learn of their various abilities and powers.


    Living up to her promise to Kurama she trained herself into the ground, learning everything there was to learn. She practiced her taijutsu endlessly, moving through katas, fighting against clones, watching and rewatching the memories Madara shared with her from his countless battles. The few days she took off from training, she spent learning English, and French. She was left with little choice but to develop a proficiency in them if she wanted to interact with the people who lived around her.


    Days turned to weeks, weeks into months. Her ninth birthday came and went, with the only people acknowledging it being Madara and Kurama. She grew to adore them, in Madara''s case more than she already had.


    As time wore on and her finances started to drain, she needed to take on a job to begin gathering more money, so she took up the job of a bounty hunter. Dawning her black cloak and red and black mask, she would stalk and kill dark witches and wizards, often bringing their heads to the bounty offices as proof of her kill. The first time she arrived, drew natural disbelief from the clerk, only for her to produce the head and demand payment. She quickly earned herself a reputation. She could have avoided the added attention by just transforming into an adult, but she chose to appear as a child. Her logic was simple, too few people feared what they perceived as innocent. A man, or a woman, those could be dangerous, but a kid who would ever suspect a child of being a threat? The sickest and most twisted preyed upon children, and so she thought it would send a message if she taught them to fear what they perceived as innocent. As word of her reputation spread, criminals who targeted kids might just ask themselves in that moment, what if this kid is her? And if they chose to walk away, then that saved that child''s life.


    It most certainly worked, at least the reputation part. All over Europe those who hunted magical criminals began hearing about the child-sized masked killer who left her targets in pieces and returned with their severed heads to claim the bounty on them. She operated under an alias, using the name ''Null''. It was a word that represented her so well, both as a person, and what she represented as a bounty hunter. Null meant having no legal or binding force, which spoke of how she was as a killer, but it also represented something absent of value, which is how she believed her family and the people of the Leaf viewed her.


    In her first six months she claimed thirteen bounties. She actually began considering this as a profession, something that she could do to pay her way through life. She still had the idea of going to magical school, and for some reason, Hogwarts still spoke to her. Beauxbatons was closer, and near to where she currently lived, but it was much younger, newer, didn''t have the same history. Hogwarts was ancient, there was old power there, and it was overseen by arguably the greatest wizard born in the last century.


    She''d definitely have to hide the Uzumaki-Uchiha name to avoid Dumbledore finding out who she really was, but that would be easy, and who''d think to look for her at Hogwarts of all places?


    That was still a way off, and though Madara warned her of the risks, the rewards were just as great, and of course, she''d have far greater power by then, especially if she could keep hidden for several more years under Dumbledore''s nose.


    In that time, she also learned a number of lessons about survival. Magicals like witches and wizards were nowhere close to Shinobi in terms of their physical abilities, and much of their magic was more utilitarian and precise in nature than ninjutsu, so while Witches and Wizards could accomplish more with their magic, in just the area of combat and warfare, shinobi far outclassed them. This made them easy pickings. What trumped her up, was the presences of mages.


    In the world there stood many different types of magicals. Witches and Wizards were lumped together, as they drew magic from a magical core, utilized a focus, called upon words of power, and acquired their magic through study. Shinobi drew magic from their coils, the place where magic was stored after it passed through the Eight Gates. They learned their magic through study but deployed it through the use of hand signs, coupled again, with words of power. Mages drew magic from the magical pathways that connected their cores to their coils, they drew upon magic in motion which granted it different properties. Mages shared many similarities to both groups, but they belonged to some of the most secret of societies. Mages hid themselves amongst the population of magicals, often pretending to be them to avoid suspicion and hide from both muggles and other magicals. Since it was easy to mistake them, that meant that on occasions a mage may be targeted as a witch or wizard, or some other form of spellcaster without anyone realizing it. Twice on her hunts, she''d had the misfortune of targeting mages, who''s magic and abilities were often greater than that of witches or wizards.


    Fighting them required her to think outside of the box and capitalize on her own abilities. In both encounters she had suffered injury. In the first, she ran into a mage that had the ability to alter his movements, this made him near impossible to read with her Sharingan because he could alter his movements while making them, throwing off her predictions. She walked away from that fight with a broken arm, which took a bone-healing potion to fix. In the second encounter she fought a mage who specialized in creating highly flammable substances that were difficult to detect. She received a nasty burn on her arm that would leave behind a noticeable scar, even with potions to heal it.


    She learned lessons from these battles, each injury, a reminder of her own mortality, that even with Kamui she wasn''t invincible. It taught her greater caution, greater care, and to not get complacent. She had to treat each battle like her life could be on the line, because she never knew what her enemy had in story for her. The mindset of battle versus dance, was meant to be reflected upon after a battle, not before. So, she developed a greater degree of care towards the preservation of her own life and carried the scars as a testament to those lessons learned.


    So she devoted her time and energy to bounty hunting and training. It was Madara who suggested that at some point she goes to Gringotts and takes on the Uzumaki Lordship. Minato was the heir, but he had no clue as to his heritage and after so much time had passed, it was likely she could claim it instead, as age wasn''t a requirement. That would emancipate her in the eyes of magic and the law, which would allow for other benefits in the future.


    She agreed and shortly after her ninth birthday she went to Gringotts and spoke with a teller in regard to accepting a lordship. He took a blood test from her to determine if there were any lordships available for her to claim before they discussed things any further, and the look he gave her before waddling off to find a manager was quite concerning.


    "What do you suppose that was about?" Kurama inquired.


    "I think we''re about to find out." Riley noted as the teller returned, alongside one of the bank managers.


    "Greetings, I''m the manager of this establishment, you can call me Wrask. I understand you''re here to claim a lordship?" Wrask inquired, the squat little creature standing shorter than even Riley.


    "Yeah. That''s what I''m here for sir." She responded.


    "I see, please, come with me." Wrask told her, guiding her into the back of the bank and into his office. "Please have a seat."


    "Is there a problem?" She inquired as she sat opposite of him.


    "Not a problem, though there are things we would like to address. First and foremost, you''ve come to claim the Uzumaki Lordship, is that correct?" He asked her.


    "Yes, that is correct sir." She responded.


    "You understand what that would entail? You would not only be taking ownership of the Clan title, and become the lord of the Uzumaki clan, but you would also receive the title of Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools. This a title held by the Uzumaki clan leader, and upon taking the title, you would also inherit that land, though it is currently a ruin. The island, and all of its holdings would, by law, fall under your control, magically speaking of course. Who actually controls the land would be determined by who''s there." Wrask informed her, earning surprise from Riley.


    "You said your wife was the leader of the Uzumaki clan, you didn''t tell me that she was a Daimyo." Riley questioned her grandfather.


    "Did I forget to mention that?" Madara hummed, causing Riley to blanch.


    "So... What would that mean for me?" Riley inquired while recovering from her grandfather''s response.


    "Again, most of it is now a ruin, but the island of the Land of Whirlpools would now become your property. Any residents living upon that land would have to pay taxes to you. All assets listed to the Land of Whirlpools, the Uzumaki Clan, or the Hidden Village of Uzushiogakure would be yours. It isn''t much, as I said it was all destroyed, but it would now be yours." Wrask informed her.


    "Why hasn''t anyone tried to claim it? The land I mean. I understand the hidden village was destroyed, but why not conquer the land as well?" Riley inquired.


    "They couldn''t. The village was destroyed by a joint force of four of the Hidden Villages of the Great Nations. Sand, Mist, Cloud, and Stone. It was a joint attack that triggered the Third Great Ninja War. Had it not been for the damage suffered during that attack, and the deaths of so many leaders from those four villages, their alliance would have held strong and allowed them to then turn their attention onto the Hidden Leaf. Unfortunately for them, the Uzumaki were incredible warriors, and I was amongst them. At battles end, the land lay in ruins, and ancient seals activated that locked off the Hidden Village from outside interference. No one could gain entrance, and with the breakout of the Third Great Ninja War, the other villages didn''t have the time or manpower to try and pilfer that dead land for valuables. So, it remains untouched, an island of ghosts, locked off from outside interference. People don''t go there anymore." Madara explained to her, wrath touching at his voice as he remembered the conflict that had ultimately cost him his wife and son.


    "I couldn''t say. For whatever reason, it still remains untouched. The land may be in ruin and practically deserted, but it would still be yours." Wrask also responded.


    "Okay. Thank you for explaining. I still intend to claim that title, but if we could avoid a lot of the fanfare, I would appreciate it." She said to the goblin.


    "We''re not required to inform anyone or make any sort of proclamations. In fact, you needn''t even be here to claim the Lordship. The leadership of these lands and all accompanied titles were established long before the Uzumaki began using the goblin banks. Old magic is tied into it. You are the heir and fit all required prerequisites, so you are free to claim it, with little more than a proclamation of intent." Wrask informed her.


    "Grandfather, what was grandmother''s name?" Riley inquired.


    "Kaguya." He answered her.


    "Alright. I, Riley Uzumaki-Uchiha, granddaughter of Kaguya Uzumaki, hereby claim the title of head of the Uzumaki Clan, and Lord of the Land of Whirlpools." Riley stated aloud. A few seconds passed as nothing seemed to happen, but Wrask glanced down at a piece of parchment on his desk, and a toothy grin spread across his face.


    "Your Ladyship." He said to her, confirming her change in status. "Now... there is some other issues I wished to address with you. Firstly, while nothing can be done with the land itself or the handful of inhabitants and that taxes they owe, Gringotts can send out letters ordering payment, it can also grant you access to the Uzumaki clan vaults as well as the vaults of the Land of Whirlpools. Both vaults are basically empty, but by my understanding the Uzumaki kept their own personal vaults that they linked to their bank vaults. It seems they made sure that their own vaults couldn''t be reached by anyone save through the bank vaults themselves. Meaning while you do have access to both of the sets of vaults, I couldn''t tell you what was in them. They likely remain untouched, lest someone found a way to breach the physical vault themselves."


    "That''s awesome. So can I have access to those vaults moved here?" She asked him.


    "You may. We can transfer over access to both sets of vaults so they may be reached from this establishment. Would you like me to assign you your own personal vault manager? This is normally an automatic process but seeing as how both vaults are empty of any actual wealth and are simply a means of reaching the true vaults, we have no idea what is within them. If you choose to do so, any funds removed from the actual vaults and placed within the bank vaults may then be managed by the bank itself in whatever way you deep fit." Wrask answered her.


    "It might not be a bad idea to transfer any wealth contained within the vaults into the bank vaults regardless. If they have remained untouched, then it''s only by a stroke of luck and clever genius on the Uzumaki''s part, but better to have that wealth and any items contained in those vaults, placed safely under the watch of the goblins. If they''ve remained untouched, you''ll have access to the wealth of a small nation, and the wealth of the richest and most powerful clan in that nation. That''s not even counting any other items kept within those vaults. That much wealth and you can guarantee the goblins will place an entire army around it, to keep it safe." Madara suggested to her.


    "There''s also the Goblin''s skill in investing. If I recall correctly, I remember Minato explaining that to Kushina. The Goblins are good at that. Using money to make more money." Kurama chimed in.


    "I''ll certainly consider it, manager. First, I need to see if there''s anything even in those vaults worth managing. If there is, then I think I''ll take you up on the offer." She said to him, causing the goblin chief to nod in acceptance.


    "Very well then your ladyship. The process should take only two weeks. We''ll owl you once it is concluded and you''ll have access to your vaults then. Instructions will be sent on how to obtain the keys to either vault. Unless you have any more questions, or are in need of anything else, then I believe our business is concluded for the day." Wrask laid it out for her.


    "Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you. Until next time." She accepted the end of their meeting and exited the office. She had to temper the excitement she felt at getting to explore the Uzumaki vaults. There was no telling if there''d be anything in them, so for now, best to keep from getting too excited.


    -One week Later-


    She continued her hunts, tracking down those whose lives had been rendered forfeit due to their crimes, her reputation was growing, slowly but surely.


    She was in Paris, outside of her disguise, simply traveling about when a cry caught her ears. It was there one moment and gone the next, almost being lost on the wind. Moving swiftly in the direction she believed it to be, she heard the sounds of a scuffle and drew closer. She arrived on scene to find several men attacking a family in an alley. Two girls and a man were being assaulted. A large man was pinned against the wall, held there by two equally large men while a third held him at wand point, casting some sickly spell that caused the man to yell and howl in pained agony. One of the girls was young, no more than four or five, pinned to the ground by another man, the other girl looked to be a few years older than Riley, had three more men on her, her shirt had been torn off, one of the men held her down while another was working to pull off her pants. Over them the third stood with a cruel grin, his fly already undone as he prepared to rape her.


    Disgust erupted through Riley, rage immediately following it as her Sharingan exploded to life.


    In a burst of speed, she shot forward, her mask and cloak appearing around her as she did. Her first target, the spellcaster attacking the man. She leaped into the air, delivering a flying kick that landed straight in the side of his head, snapping his head sideways, his neck breaking, his body sailing off down the alley. She then turned, drawing two kunai she launched forward, stabbing into the lower backs of the two men pinning their victim to the wall. Her blades dug deep, punching almost all the way through them from the force of her strike. She tore the blades free as both men screamed out in pain, releasing their victim and falling to the ground. She continued her assault, moving swifty, she raced along the wall, to drop down on the back of the man, pinning the smallest girl to the ground. viciously she rained stabs down into his neck and shoulders, tearing open his flesh and veins, blood spraying out of his arteries, splattering her in red as he collapsed onto the child, which she swiftly kicked off of her. She then turned to the remaining three men who''d now seen her. All three were backing away from her, one having pulled the older girl up to use as a human shield, all had their wands drawn on her, and from the looks on their faces, they seemed to recognize her.


    She locked eyes with the man holding the older girl, his body freezing as she caught him in a genjutsu. She then shot forward, moving as fast as she ever had to clear the distance between them. The older girl felt herself be released, as her savior barreled into her attackers, she stumbled forward, collapsing to the ground, unable to run as her pants were around her knees. She rolled over, and watched in terrified amazement as the masked person brutally dispatched the three men, she bounced between them, stabbing and cutting at them, throwing her knives at them, blood rained through the air, as they were carved open. She took the legs out from under one of them and proceeded to stab him in the belly so many times, the girl could see his intestines start to spill out.


    One started to run, while another staggered about, a knife sticking out of his chest. Riley quickly leaped onto him, ripping the knife out and stabbing in repeatedly in the face with it, only stopping when the blade pierced his eye and into his brain, silencing his screams. She fell with him, but rolled off of his body, her attention turning immediately towards the final man who had almost reached the end of the darkened alley. Drawing several shuriken, she sent them flying at leg level, watching as they sliced across his calves, knees and ankles. He collapsed with a scream and tried crawling away. Riley stalked the alley, making it to him and rolling him onto his back. She dropped down on top of him, sitting on his chest while she proceeded to hammer his face with her fists. Blow after blow she rained down until his skull cracked apart and all of his teeth were ejected.


    She was panting now, not from exhaustion but from rage. Anger coursed through her, and she wished more than anything to kill these sick fucks again. Slowly, she rose to her feet, turning around to scan the alley. Her eyes were met by the older girl, who stared back at her unflinchingly.


    Seeing the fear dancing in the girl''s eyes, Riley felt the anger start to leave her. Crying caught her ears, the smaller girl sat further down the alley, bawling her eyes out. Riley began advancing, stopping for a moment to pick up the older girl''s shirt which had been tossed aside in the attack, she stood over her, dropped it back in her lap, covering up at least part of her modesty.


    "Are you alright?" Riley asked from beneath her mask.


    She received silence from the older girl, only the welling of tears in her eyes. Riley dropped to a knee, "Hey! Are you alright?"


    Again, the girl blinked at her, but finally seemed to register her question. She nodded shakily. Riley held her gaze for a long moment before glancing over to the older man, presumedly the father of both of these girls. He was dazed, breathing heavily, his eyes unfocused. The spell that was used on him looked like the Torture Curse, Riley herself had never felt it''s effects, but she could guess as to how painful it must have been.


    Riley let out a sigh, and rose to her feet, she crossed the alley and picked up the smaller girl who yelped and pushed away from her in fear. Riley paid her little mind as she carried the child over to the older girl who''d finished pulling her clothes back on. Upon spotting her, the smaller child leaped into her arms, crying out her name as she did.


    "Fleur!" She cried, burying her head into her sister''s chest.


    Riley moved to check on the father, helping the man to his feet as his focus returned. She guided him over to his daughters, and helped him sit beside them, the two girls quickly moved to him, wrapping him in tearful hugs. Riley stared down at the trio for a long moment, taking in their bond, and the love they shared.


    Slowly, the father managed to regain his bearings. He quickly sought to check on his daughters.


    "Fleur, Gabrielle are you alright?" He questioned them, giving the two a quick once over.


    "We are fine papa. Thanks to them." The older girl, Fleur responded, turning her blue eyes towards where Riley now stood over them


    The man followed her gaze and laid eyes upon their savior.


    "You... You''re Null..." The man spoke.


    "You look familiar to me. Jean Delacour, right? Chief Auror. I''m assuming these men weren''t here by accident." Riley responded from beneath her mask.


    Jean Delacour glanced around at all of the corpses, seven in total. He had been following the work of the mysterious Null for a several weeks now. A child-sized bounty hunter who''d collected quite the number of bounties so far. He hadn''t known what to make of those stories until now. Here and now, he saw it with his own two eyes, those stories were true. This person, who had to be a child, given their size, had just killed seven men, full grown wizards. They were nearly soaked, head to toe in blood.


    "You saved us..." Fleur spoke.


    "Of course I did. I wasn''t about to let this happen. Who are these guys?" Riley responded, meeting her gaze. She felt her heart lurch at the sight of the girl. She felt for her, only imagining what it could feel like to be in such a situation. There was something about the girl, something in her eyes that made Riley feel like a connection was there. For some reason, she felt her anger blaze. She felt a vengeful side of herself begin to creep up. Something deep within her was stirring and while it didn''t feel good, it felt right.


    "I think they are members of Frenado Consortium. That''s who they said they were. They''ve been expanding their criminal activities into Paris these last few years, I guess they wished to send a message to my department." Jean responded, still shaken from the attack and his exposure to the Torture Curse.


    "The Frenado Consortium, eh? Alright. You three stay safe alright. Get your daughters somewhere away from all this." She told the man, before turning to head off, a name for those responsible for this attack. She felt that dark stirring in her belly grow even more intense. She needed to act, to satiate this hatred and rage growing within her.


    Before the man could question her further, she vanished in a burst of speed.


    The three Delacour''s were left to stare at the empty space where their savior had been, trying to get a grasp of everything that had happened to them.


    For several days afterwards, Riley stalked and murdered members of the Frenado Consortium, hunting and killing members of the gang, and leaving their severed heads as warnings for others. Her body county quickly stacked up as she mercilessly murdered members of this magical crime syndicate. She made sure that a lesson was learned about running afoul of her. Getting her attention was not a good idea. By the end of her days long killing streak, her number of confirmed kills had risen into the high forties.


    Needless to say, the name Null began to resonate with even greater fear amongst criminals. The only thing that put a halt to her attack on the criminal group was when word reached her that Gringotts had finished transferring her vaults here to France.


    She arrived and was met by the bank manager Wrask, who presented her with the keys to her new vaults and led her down to their location. Both vaults, merely due to their ages were considered high priority to the bank and thus kept deep below, guarded by their army, as well as beasts and curses to keep away intruders. The first vault she ventured into was the vault for the Land of Whirlpools, inside it was completely empty, save for a summoning circle that sat in the center of it.


    Riley knelt in the center of the circle, and following Madara''s instructions, activated it, which teleported her into the actual vault itself.


    What she found left her absolutely gob smacked. Cash lined the walls, and mountains of coins littered the vault itself. The money was naturally in Ryo save for the gold, and silver ingots also present. She couldn''t even fathom how much money there was. When she returned, Wrask took one look at her face, and grinned toothily, asking her if she''d require an account manager to help her manage the funds. She offered a numb nod and inquired as to the cost of transferring the money into the local currency and moving into her Gringotts vault. He answered that they''d be able to easily handle the currency transfer, but in order to know how much it would cost to move it all over, he''d have to know how much it was. Her response was that it was a lot.


    After recovering, she went to investigate the Uzumaki vault. Again, it was an empty vault with a summoning circle in it, to reverse summon her to the actual vault. She used it and was brought to the Uzumaki clan vault. Inside she found money, jewels, gold and silver, but beyond that she found what she was really hoping to see. Scrolls, dozens of them. Antique artworks, paintings, statues, masks, ancient weapons, ornate swords, and spears, and intricately carved bow, it was a lot.


    "We''ll need to begin investigating what''s contained in these scrolls and see what they can teach you." Madara hummed with an unseen smile.


    Riley could only grin in excitement. She returned to Wrask and again let him know that she''d need an account manager for both vaults as there was a lot kept within. They worked out having the money transferred and converted to the Bezant which was the coinage used in magical France. She also had some changed to the Euro as well so she could purchase things from muggles as well.


    It would take a bit, but they''d have an accurate counting of her wealth sooner, rather than later.


    Riley left the bank very pleased, now knowing that she no longer had money concerns. It would later be found that she had access to a combined total of close to two point two billion ryo, which was almost thirty million bezants. In the blink of an eye, she was a millionaire. The sum total of a country''s wealth, all in the hands of a nine-year-old. The losses the Hidden Villages suffered in taking down the Uzumaki Clan and their hidden village must have been something spectacular if that amount of wealth was allowed to just remain buried in a vault somewhere. Despite being a small nation, the Uzumaki were very wealthy.


    Riley was more than happy with it, and the goblins were happy to get the chance to invest that money and use it to make even more money. With accounts and vaults that big, she wasn''t just given an account manager, but an entire team of goblins worked on investing a small portion of that money in order to maximize returns. Riley paid them handsomely for this, and they also received a percentage of what was earned on the profits of investments, so they were encouraged to make the best investments they could. It would quickly become a sought-after position within the bank that many goblins vied for.


    After getting her accounts and money situation in order, Riley began devoting her time to studying the scrolls found within the Uzumaki vault. She was eager to learn what they had to offer. Many of the scrolls contained knowledge about the clan''s secret sealing jutsus, though there were some scrolls that also had ninjutsu techniques as well. Riley was happy to dive into it all.


    A treasure trove of information, and with the knowledge of both Madara and Kurama to aid her in her studies, Riley was able to quickly dive into it.


    -Six Months Later-


    Time began to blur together as Riley spent day-in and day-out learning and growing her skills. There were so many scrolls within the Uzumaki vault and no sense of categorization that she could follow, Madara explained to her that the nature of the Clan''s organizing came from the mind of the Clan leader. It was meant as added security so that the true treasures were hidden somewhere in the mass. What went where, and what meant what, was all kept in the mind of the Clan Leader, anyone else would just be lost. Madara was able to help her find a few gems here and there, because he knew his wife so well, but for the most part, Riley was left with checking every scroll to see what it contained. Eventually she developed a system. She would take five scrolls and read what was one of them. She''d then determine if she currently had the ability to begin learning what was held in them. If not, she would set them aside for later, but if so, then she would add them to small pile. Once she had five scrolls in total, she''d organize them into what seemed more important to learn first. She''d learn all of it before moving on, but she''d start with what she felt was more important.


    Firstly, came Ninjutsu. The Uzumaki were highly proficient in Water and Lightning Style Jutsu, so that was what a majority of the Ninjutsu based scrolls contained. She found and learned a number of Water and Lightning style techniques. These came to her easily, and she had Madara to help her understand the techniques and learn them quickly. The Sealing Jutsu, these were hit or miss. Some of them were techniques that Kushina knew, in which case Kurama could help explain them to her, to give her a better grasp of them. Those that Kushina didn''t know, Riley had to more or less learn on her own. Still, sealing was in her blood, and she quickly found she had a knack for it. Practicing drawing seal characters became a regular exercise for Riley so she could hone her craft and draw out seals with greater speed and precision.


    She grew proficient in it, developing greater and greater skill until she felt the brush settling more and more comfortably in her hand.


    While exploring the Uzumaki vault she came upon two artifacts of interest, one was Madara''s old armor from the founding of Konoha, it was robust and sturdy, and with a sizing charm added to it, she could easily use it to help her avoid injury. It was also useful in helping her to build muscle mass since it was reasonably heavy. So, she took it to get a sizing charm placed on it, and then began practicing while wearing the armor. The second object she found of interest, was her grandmother''s old headband. A crimson red cloth, with the standard steel, the Uzumaki spiral crest, the symbol of both the clan and Uzushio inscribed upon the headband. Madara explained to her that Kaguya had placed the headband in the vault after she retired from active Shinobi life. At one point Kaguya had been the leader of the Uzumaki clan, the Kage of Uzushio, and the Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools, and she held down all three jobs simultaneously for decades. She set aside the role of Kage after her son was born and passed it on to another, while maintaining her role as Daimyo and head of the Uzumaki Clan. It was a similar situation for Madara with his armor, after becoming a father, he set aside the armor and tried to live a more peaceful life. That ultimately didn''t pan out.


    As the Leader of the Uzumaki Clan now, as well as the heir to the Uchiha Clan, it was her right to wear both. When she asked him about being the heir to the Uchiha he explained that the leadership of the clan passed to Izuna''s children after Madara left the village. Madara may have walked away, but he never cast aside the name Uchiha. By all rights, the clan had broken in two, creating two branches. The main line still continued through Minato, Riley, and Naruko. Itachi and Sasuke were all that remained of the Branch Family. Were he still alive, he''d actively declare her his heir, though he suspected since Minato didn''t know of their relation and thus couldn''t claim the title, that Riley, being his eldest child, could declare herself the head of the Main Branch of the Uchiha, and magic would accept her claim. She wouldn''t gain any real assets, properties, or wealth, as most of what the Uchiha had was claimed by the branch family, but she''d still be recognized as the official head of Madara''s line of the Uchiha clan.


    Riley was silent for several long moments as she thought on that. Finally, she simply shrugged and spoke the words.


    "I Riley Uzumaki Uchiha, claim lordship over the Uchiha clan." Much like before, nothing obvious happened, but several hours later she received an owl from Gringotts informing her that her status had just been updated and she technically held a new lordship. So, she returned to the bank and discussed things with her account manager who informed her that she''d become the recognized Lord of the Uchiha clan. He explained to her what she already knew but put it into the proper terms from the banks point of view. There were technically two Uchiha clans. There was the Uchiha Clan, which she was now the head of, and there was the Uchiha Clan of Konohagakure, which Itachi was the head of. Due to the nature of their separation, they were recognized as sibling clans, or as Madara had described it, a main branch that still followed the unbroken line, and the side branch which remained behind after Madara walked away from them.


    After confirming what she already knew, they worked out what she wanted to do. She had a new vault established, one for the Uchiha clan of her lineage, she then had some money transferred from the Uzumaki vault, with directions placed with the new account manager to begin working on growing that money through investments.


    By taking on the title of head of the Uzumaki and Uchiha clans, Riley began to form her life''s mission. It was rough, a real open-ended goal, but her desire began to reshape itself, specifically surrounding the Uzumaki clan, as the salvation of the Uchiha clan she mostly conceded to Itachi and Sasuke, her desire surrounding the Uchiha was to honor her grandfather and Shisui. To carry the name Uchiha and make sure that when people heard it, they understood the greatness attached to it. For the Uzumaki she sought a return to their former greatness. A clan that was once so powerful that four of the five hidden villages united to take it down. She wished for the name Uzumaki to once more be feared and respected across the world. She also felt a desire to repay those four hidden villages for what they''d done to her grandmother, and for being ultimately responsible for her own father growing up in Konoha, rather than with his parents, which likely resulted in him being the monumental scumbag that he was today.


    Carrying this realization she somewhat rued her decision to give the Byakugan to Kumo. Had she known all of this ahead of time, and been in this state of mind, she wouldn''t have aided what she was starting to consider her enemy.


    Ultimately, in her heart of hearts, she started to dream of the lost village restored. The more Madara told her about its greatness and beauty, the more she wanted to remake it. Uzushio was the oldest Hidden Village in the world. It was a hidden village long before Hashirama and Madara designed the concept and built Konoha. It may not have recognized itself as such, but the village of the Uzumaki had always been what it was, stretching back for centuries. More of a city, than a village, it''s high walls, and white marble buildings made it look like a city out of time. Something majestic and grand. Were it not for the Uzumaki''s desire to focus on themselves and stay out of worldly politics, Madara had no doubt that they could have easily become a superpower amongst the Great Nations.


    Riley admired his stories, and began to dream of it, to one day see that village restored, and the name of the Uzumaki carved into the hearts of every magical being on the planet.


    It was Kurama who pointed out that if she sought to achieve that goal in her lifetime, she''d need to find other Uzumaki survivors, and probably find a way to reproduce with women. He knew it was possible due to the supposed ''sex magic'' that Lily was aware of, he was sure someone out there had figured out same sex reproduction using magic, and she''d need it in order to achieve that greatness, as the clan would need numbers, and Riley couldn''t spend most of her life pregnant if she sought to make all of her dreams come true.


    The idea was an embarrassing one, but she didn''t shy away from it. She knew he was right, and though a part of her did wonder what being a mother would be like, carrying her own child, in her own womb, she recognized that in order for her dreams to be realized in her lifetime she''d need a wife, probably more than one wife. If she sought to restore the clan, she''d either need to find some magic that involved same-sex reproduction, or used some kind of magic that would transform her sex into that of a male. Either way, she knew the answer was out there.


    With a growing ambition she threw herself back into her training, set on becoming the greatest she could be, no the greatest there ever was.


    After spending nearly, a month training herself into the ground she returned to her hunts, once more targeting the Consortium. She tracked its operation across the planet, using her skills as a Kunoichi to gather intel and locate prime targets. Across Europe and into Asia, she hunted them doing everything in her power to make the group''s existence a living hell. Why? Because in her heart of hearts she felt they deserved it. All the pain and suffering she brought onto them, she felt they deserved every ounce of it, and whenever she tried to rationalize the ''why?'' behind it, the answer came in those shimmering blue eyes staring up at her. A face she thought on often. That girl, the hope and pain mixed in her eyes as she stared up at her masked savior. It stuck with Riley, an image plastered into her mind that fueled this mission.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Her travels took her far, even all the way out to Japan, where another branch of the Consortium had established itself. She began stalking its members, developing a kill list as she prepared for the night of blood. Japan was the location for the entryway back into the Elemental Nations, so she was hesitant to be here. Still, she was dedicated to killing off as many members of the Consortium as possible, so she planned on simply being discreet. So, she''d track them all first and wipe them all out in a single night before retreating from the country.


    The first night, after she''d finished her initial stakeout, she retreated to a nearby forest. The sun was just starting to set, and she gotten some food to eat before she found a nice tree to sleep in. Japan reminded her a lot of the Elemental Nations; they spoke the same language and much of the architecture was of a similar style. That wasn''t really a comforting thought though, as the idea of Shinobi appearing out of nowhere to attack her, kept her on edge. She picked at her food for a bit while sitting up in a tree, over an old shrine, the sky began to darken and fill with clouds and it soon began raining, so she took her food and moved inside of the small shrine. She intended to hide up in the rafters out of sight of anyone who could wander by but inside she found someone already there.


    Tucked into a corner, knees pulled to her chest, half-asleep was a girl around her age. This girl had bright, pinkish-red hair, though her head was covered by a beanie. She was dressed in an oversized sweatshirt, and a long pair of pants that were a size or two too large for her, tied off by a belt. When their eyes met, Riley could see that they were a deep crimson red.


    She sensed malice from the girl, though that quickly bled away to uncertainty and fear. Riley still wore her mask and robes, and no doubt appeared concerning to the young girl.


    "Riley, be careful with that girl. She''s a half-demon." Kurama spoke up.


    "A half-demon? How can you tell?" Riley replied.


    "I sense her demonic energy, activate you Sharingan and you''ll be able to see it. She had demonic magic flowing within her." Kurama replied. Riley did as suggested and activated her Sharingan. Not only did she see blood red magic eking off of the girl but surrounding her and slowly reaching out towards Riley was nearly a dozen invisible arms.


    "What are those?" Riley wondered, taking a step back. The girl seemed to react as she noticed Riley staring out into the open air, and actively retreating from her invisible arms.


    "You can see them?" The girl spoke up, in a soft, low voice.


    "Yeah. I''m not here to hurt you. I was just seeking shelter from the rain." Riley responded turning her gaze back to the girl, once more allowing her eyes to meet. This time the girl was able to see the Sharingan now present in Riley''s eyes causing her to take in a breath and begin to pull herself up.


    The girl was around Riley''s height and just from her appearance, Riley could tell she was likely homeless. This outfit seemed roughly thrown together. Something to keep her warm, but these obviously weren''t clothes someone had intentionally bought her.


    The girl stared Riley down, her eyes surprisingly intense for a girl her age, though they briefly flickered to the food Riley carried in her hand. The second time this happened, Riley glanced down at it, and then held it up.


    "You want this? Here, you can have it." She offered the food to her.


    The girl blinked at her and was about to respond when her stomach growled loudly. The noise was loud enough for Riley to hear over the rain outside, which caused her to let out a light chuckle. The girl blushed at that, embarrassed by her body''s reaction.


    Riley set the food down and took several steps back. The girl watched her the whole way, only advancing when Riley stopped moving. She took a few steps forward and one of the invisible arms grabbed hold of the food and lifted it to the girl''s hands.


    "So, they can only stretch so far." Riley recognized. Despite how many arms there was floating around this girl, all seemingly emerging from her back, they had a range of about two meters. They seemed to be able to stretch and elongate within that range but couldn''t extend past it.


    The girl continued to watch her as she retreated back to the corner she''d been tucked into. She slumped back to the ground and after a final cautious glance she dug into the food. She wasn''t able to help herself and scarfed down the half-eaten meal with a fervor that Riley recognized all too well. She knew what it was like to be hungry.


    It was here again, that stirring in her gut. It was stronger though, that face, seeing this girl in pain, and alone, Riley felt it resonate within her, all the way down to her core. Despite Kurama''s warning to be cautious, there was something so distinctly human about this girl, and Riley wanted to help her.


    "Did you get stuck out here? Are you all by yourself?" Riley asked her.


    "What does it matter to you?" The girl asked.


    "I just want to know if I leave if you''ll be alright." Riley responded, causing the girl to lift her gaze to her.


    "Why do you care?" The girl asked with suspicion.


    "I know what it''s like to be alone. To be forgotten and abandoned." Riley replied, staring back at her.


    The girl looked like wanted to snap a response but stopped herself when she again met Riley''s gaze and saw the Sharingan therein.


    "Don''t concern yourself with me, I''ll be fine. Once this storm has passed, I''ll be on my way." The girl replied, setting the empty food carton aside.


    "Okay." Riley nodded. She sat across from the girl on the opposite side of the shrine. The two sat in silence for several long moments before the girl spoke again.


    "Why are you dressed like that?" She inquired.


    "To hide my face. Same reason you wear a hat." Riley replied causing the girl to blink in surprise, her hands shooting up to her cap to the sides of her head.


    "How...?" The girl began.


    "My eyes can see those invisible arms of yours and the energy that makes them up. I can see the energy of your body too. A lot of energy is passed into the sides of your head, someplace outside of your skull. So I''m guessing you wear that hat to hide whatever that is." Riley explained to her. The girl blinked several more times, before letting out a noise, almost like a grunt. After several long moments she pulled the cap from her head, revealing two bone-like protrusions coming from the sides of her head, pointed at an upward angle. They almost looked like cat-ears, just made of bone instead.


    "Nothing to say?" The girl questioned after Riley took a moment to examine her.


    "Sorry. I didn''t mean to stare. They''re cool though." Riley offered in response.


    "They''re not cool. They mean I''m a freak." The girl responded darkly.


    "No, they mean you''re not normal, but who wants to be normal. Normal people are overrated." Riley countered.


    "You''re just saying that. You don''t actually believe it." The girl threw back at her, ruefully.


    "My uncle in all but blood is a werewolf, and I think he''s awesome." Riley again countered, causing the girl to blink in surprise.


    "We-werewolf?" She stuttered in response.


    "Yeah, ya know, turns into a wolf-man on the full moon, that sort of deal. I''ve seen plenty of people who aren''t normal, but it''s never bothered me. Normal is overrated." Riley shrugged. "Heck the two people I''m closed to are the disembodied voice of my grandfather and the actual Nine-Tailed Demon Fox." She added in thought, a cheeky grin under her mask.


    "You... seem to know a lot about this stuff." The girl noted.


    "It''s magic. I was raised by people with magic, that''s how I know. Your power is some kind of magic too. Not any I''m familiar with, but still magic." Riley explained to her.


    "Magic? This is magic?" The girl blinked, her eyes focused on several of the invisible arms, revealing her own ability to see them.


    "My name is Riley, what''s yours?" Riley inquired.


    The girl focused her gaze onto Riley and stared at her for several long moments, it looked like she was struggling with herself, fighting off the urge to resist. Finally, she uttered a word. "Kaede."


    "Kaede. Nice to meet you, Kaede." Riley greeted her, reaching up to remove her mask as a sign of respect.


    The girl blinked once more at the sight of her, taking in Riley''s appearance.


    "So Kaede, do you mind if I stick around for a bit, at least until the storm has passed?" Riley asked her.


    "You''re asking me?" Kaede responded.


    "You were here first." Riley shrugged.


    "You can stay." Kaede conceded after a moment of thought.


    Silence held between them for several long moments, as Kaede kept her eyes on Riley, but they slowly started to droop. She tried to stay awake but eventually the girl fell asleep. Once she was out, Riley rose to her feet and crossed the distance between them. She removed her cloak and draped it over the sleeping girl so she could stay warm. She then created a Shadow Clone to watch over her and make sure no one else stumbled across this shrine, once done, she left the shrine and headed down towards the nearby town.


    It took her a bit to track down all the things she needed, but she eventually got everything. A backpack, some clothes, some toiletries, and a bunch of nutritious food, all that she could stuff into the backpack. She then headed back to the shrine and left the backpack next to the sleeping girl. She then returned to her spot on the opposite side of the shrine and allowed herself to fall into the land of dreams.


    She awoke at daybreak; around the same time, she heard Kaede began to stir. The girl opened her eyes and blinked several times. Riley was already up and standing at the entrance to the shrine, watching the sun rise.


    Kaede took a moment as she felt an unfamiliar warmth. She took notice of the cloak draped around her and realized that it was Riley''s. She went to move but her leg accidently brushed the backpack sitting next to her, drawing her attention to it.


    "That''s for you. I went out and got you some things while you were asleep." Riley said to her.


    Kaede stared up at her for a long moment before pulling over the backpack and opening it. When she saw what was inside, she felt all of the breath leave her. Tears started to fill her eyes, but she quickly looked away to hide them and wipe them away.


    "Why?" She questioned pushing the backpack aside and rising to her feet.


    Riley turned to face her, sensing that the girl was unused to any sort of genuine kindness.


    "WHY ARE YOU BEING SO NICE TO ME! YOU DON''T KNOW ME! I''VE HURT PEOPLE FOR PRETENDING TO CARE! WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Kaede roared at her, tossing Riley''s cloak at her feet.


    "I told you last night. I get it. I wish more than anything that I had someone who cared enough to do something. Those instances were few and far between, but they meant the world to me. I know this won''t fix your problems, but maybe it can make your life a little better, at least for a bit. Maybe it helps you make it, and get to a better place, and that would be worth it for me. I know what it''s like to think something is wrong with you, to be hated for something outside of your control. I get it. People hated me all my life. They wanted to kill me for something I had nothing to do with. I hurt them for trying to hurt me. Believe me Kaede, I get it. You''re not a monster. You''re just a person." Riley said to her, meeting her gaze for several long moments. Kaede turned her head away, her body shaking as she took in Riley''s words.


    "I hurt the last person who was kind to me. What I did was unforgiveable. I don''t deserve your kindness. Or anyone''s. I am a monster, Riley. I am." Kaede responded, bitter pain in her voice. Tears spilled out of her eyes, and she grit her teeth in anger.


    A warmth enveloped her, as he felt Riley wrap her in a hug.


    "You''re not a monster Kaede. You feel guilt, don''t you. You regret what you did. You hate yourself for it. Monsters don''t feel guilty. They don''t feel bad for the things they''ve done. You hurt someone who was nice to you, and you feel terrible for it, that doesn''t make you a monster." Riley reassured her, doing what she felt she''d have wanted someone to do or say to her when she felt alone, and at rock bottom.


    Kaede was silent. She shook as she fought to stop the tears from fall from her eyes.


    "Hey... don''t worry so much. I''ll be your friend. Look, I''m only staying here for a week or two, but when I leave to go back to Europe, why don''t you come with me?" Riley asked her, pulling back to allow Kaede to meet her gaze. She stared at her for many long moments, as a smile slowly spread across her face.


    "I-I''d like that. I''m not sure if I can go, but I''ll think about it." Kaede whispered in response. Riley smiled and pulled her back into a hug, happy to have a new friend.


    It was her first since Shisui and Itachi, and she intended to hold this one close and make sure it lasted.


    For the rest of the day, Riley hung around Kaede. She used her money to rent them a hotel room to stay at for a few days. They talked about a lot of things, but mostly they just spent time with one another. Riley got to explain magic to Kaede and even showed her a bit of it. She didn''t reveal everything about herself, but then again, neither did Kaede. The two were still getting to know one another, but it felt good to have a friend.


    While Riley spent most of her time with Kaede, she did send Clones to continued gathering intel on her targets.


    Kaede really seemed to come out of her shell as the two spent time together. She even requested they go to the zoo. It was an ask, made so hesitantly, though Riley didn''t know why. Still, Riley took her. Riley brought up if Kaede would come with her when she left, and though it seemed that she wanted too, something seemed to be keeping Kaede here, so she was hesitant to accept, though it was obvious she appreciated Riley''s continued offers.


    Eventually Riley was curious enough to ask why Kaede wanted to stay in this place and admitted that she didn''t want to stay here, but she felt she had to. The person that she had hurt, they met near this place. She stayed around hoping to see him again so she could one day atone. She knew it was stupid, a fool''s hope, but it was why she wanted to stay.


    Riley accepted that answer. Kaede already knew it was foolish, but it''s what drove her on, kept her going. It was just one more thing that assured her that Kaede was a good person deep down. Troubled as she was, she was a good person.


    Days bled together, and on the last night, Riley sat with Kaede before bedtime.


    "Tomorrow is my last day here. You still haven''t given me your answer, and I won''t make you. I''ve paid for this Hotel Room for three more days, and I put some money in the backpack for you to use. If you decide to come with me, meet me at the place where we first met. If not, then I''ll come back and see you when I can. This isn''t goodbye. Okay. I won''t be mad if you decide to stay, we''ll still be friends, okay." Riley explained to her.


    Kaede was quiet as she listened. She offered a small nod and gave Riley a small smile. She deeply appreciated Riley''s offer and had already decided to join her. She just couldn''t find the words right now. Still, actions were louder than words, so she''d go to that place, and she''d leave with her new friend. There was still so much mystery between them, but Kaede had come to care for her new friend. She loved her and wanted to stay with her.


    "Riley... this has been the best week of my life." Kaede managed to get out, blushing as she did.


    Riley gifted her a big smile in response, happy that she was happy, and hoping that meant that Kaede would join her when she left so the two could continue growing their friendship.


    They shared a hug, and once Kaede had fallen asleep, Riley left the hotel and carried out her attack on the Consortium. All throughout the night, she slaughtered the members of this branch, stalking them each to meeting places or their homes.


    It was late into the morning, when she cut the throat of the final man, discarding his body without care. Her job here was done, and she could finally leave this place behind. She didn''t like being this close to where Shinobi operated. This side of the entranceway into the Elemental Nations was also guarded by ninja, and she didn''t know how often they ventured away from it, so she wanted to get clear of them as soon as possible.


    She went to the hotel room to check if Kaede was still there but found it empty. Kaede was gone, but so was the backpack. So, Riley headed out of town up to the Shrine to wait and see if her friend came to join her.


    Hours passed. The more time passed, the more Riley warred with herself. She started to conclude that Kaede had decided to stay, but she didn''t want to leave, just in case.


    So, she left a clone at the Shrine and went back to town to check on the hotel to see if Kaede was there or not. She wasn''t. There was no sign of her.


    "Seems she''s made her choice, my dear." Madara hummed.


    "Yeah. I shouldn''t make this harder on myself." Riley admitted, feeling down, but doing her best to accept it. She went back to the shrine and waited for the remainder of the day for any sign of Kaede. Past midnight she finally allowed herself to concede that her friend had chosen to stay. Taking in a breath and allowed herself to accept it, she promised herself she''d come back to Japan once she no longer worried about the Shinobi presence, and she''d reunite with her friend.


    As one final act, she left a note behind, tucked into the corner where Kaede had been sleeping that first night, it was a letter thanking Kaede for her friendship and if she ever changed her mind to send her a letter directed to the Head of the Uzumaki family, and to address the letter to Gringotts and they''d make sure it got to her. Riley knew enough to know that most magical communities had ways of intercepting mail like that, even ones served through muggle means, so the bank would get it, and it would work it''s way to Riley''s account manager.


    And if she still wanted to stay, she could still send letters to Riley, just to stay in touch.


    Riley passed through the town one final time, hoping to at least catch a glance of her friend, but quickly decided to leave when she took notice of all the cops around. They''d no doubt discovered the bodies of her kills the previous night and were out in force. That of course meant that magical law enforcement would also be out in force to clean up the mess and work to preserve the Statute of Secrecy.


    So, with a heavy sigh, Riley departed, heading to India to begin her attack. She hoped that someday soon, she''d be strong enough to return to these lands without fear of the consequences, and maybe by then, Kaede will have found her atonement. She wished her friend the best of luck in that regards, hoping beyond hope that she''d get it. In the pit of her stomach, she felt an unsettling movement. She knew she wanted to stay and find Kaede and stick with her. She knew that''s what she wanted, and she knew in order to become stronger and achieve her goals for the future, she had to be far away from the dangers of the Elemental Nations, so despite the feeling in her gut, she knew she had to leave.


    So, she left with a final prayer for her friend''s safety and salvation, and a promise to return one day. She looked forward to it, and to seeing that incredible smile once more.


    Far from the city, moving away from it, Kaede sat alone in a train car. A heavy and yet resolved depression hung over her. She had been leaving the hotel when they showed up. Police who''d come looking for her. She knew why they were here. It was something she kept hidden from Riley. She''d told her friend that she''d hurt people, but that was far from the truth. No, she''d killed them. She''d killed a lot of people. The only reason she''d been sleeping in that shrine was because the police had found the bodies of her latest victims in their home where she''d been living. She was a killer.


    Seeing those police officers, she was reminded of all the terrible things she''d done and how she didn''t deserve kindness because of it. Riley was the first person that the little voice inside her head actually encouraged her to be with. A voice that hated humans and encouraged her to distrust and hate them. With Riley it spoke differently, said things that made her blush, made her see Riley in a different way, a way that made her heart flutter and her body tingle in foreign ways. She liked those feelings, she liked being around Riley, but she couldn''t stay with her. She was being hunted.


    A small smile touched at her lips. There wasn''t likely any atonement to be found for a monster like her, but she could protect her friend. The best way to protect Riley was to stay away from her. She hoped to see her again one day, but for now she needed to keep her distance. Riley had said that she was living in France... half-way around the world. One day, Kaede would go to her. She''d find her friend and be with her, and all those things the voice whispered about, she and Riley could do them, and be happy. For now, though, she needed to leave.


    So, with a final sigh, she rested her head against the window of the train, watching the countryside roll by. In her mind''s eye, she saw that smile and felt her heart flutter. She closed her eyes and basked in the warmth of that smile, ready for the day she saw it again.


    -Several Months Later-


    Riley was approaching her tenth birthday. Over the last few months, she concluded her assault on the Consortium having devastated their operations across the world, continued her training, continued her work as a bounty hunter, and as a side hustle she turned her attention to hunting down gangs of criminals in the magical underworld. The name Null became synonymous with dread. You could always tell who had a criminal background because of how unnerved they became around kids they didn''t know. Kids, little people, gnomes, goblins, all were considered as a possibility for the figure behind the mask, but no one knew for certain. Riley found it humorous.


    Her powers continued to grow, as she learned more and more from the Uzumaki vaults, as well as from Madara and Kurama. Madara began teaching her his own jutsu, and Kurama even used Kushina''s memories to help her begin learning the Rasengan. Kushina had helped Minato develop the technique based off of an ability of Kurama''s, so she was integral to its creation. She couldn''t perform it, but she knew how it was made, knew the steps that Minato had taken to develop it, so Riley followed after them. It took her three months before she finally managed to create her first stable Rasengan but when she did, she felt an overwhelming sense of pride.


    Her ocular powers continued to grow, giving her a greater ease at performing the abilities that lay within her eyes. It was getting easier to replicate the feats that she''d performed against Obito without the need for Kurama''s help. On that note, Kurama was progressing well in his recovery. The unknown demonic entity within her that was healing him, continued to perform the act, rebuilding Kurama''s magical network. It would still be a long time before he was back to full power, but there was noteworthy progress, and that''s all Kurama cared about.


    The more she grew, the more she styled herself after her grandfather. Riley had hair that reached down to the middle of her back, and when not wearing her mask, she let it hang down. Her bangs also grew longer, falling over one of her eyes on many an occasion. A little mini-Madara Kurama liked to tease.


    Her skills as a warrior were remarkable with Kurama noting that she was a better fighter now than any Chuunin, and could probably easily best all but the most elite Jonin. At almost ten years old, that was a testament to her incredible abilities and ever-growing skill. She got plenty of practice in using her skills against those criminals she targeted. Her kill count was now closer to one-hundred-and-fifty, a body count that surpassed what Madara held at that age by a long shot.


    Every battle, every injury, it made Riley stronger. It taught her more, it helped her understand herself, and her enemies. She began to raid the homes of her targets, stealing items of value, things she could use, or sell for a profit. If she was targeting criminals, she''d hunt for information so that she could use it in further attacks. There were acts of retaliation. Ambushes here and there. That was where powers like Kamui were lifesaving. It taught Riley caution, and patience. It taught her deception and trickery. She was always on guard, always acting under the guise of her alter-ego of Null. Null was absent affiliation. A black cloak with red armor underneath, her grandmother''s headband she wore beneath her red mask with black flames on it. No distinguishing symbols that could be spotted on her disguise to give a clue as to who she was. The only two clues as to what she was, was the mask, and the red Shinobi-Battle Armor. This led some, a few individuals who were the more worldly sort to begin to understand what they were dealing with. A Shinobi.


    The idea would be considered ludicrous by some, most people didn''t even know what a Shinobi was, of those that did, most considered them a myth. Only a few knew the truth, knew that they were real, yet even these found the idea of Null being a shinobi to be impossible. First off, Shinobi never left their lands. They didn''t come out into the magical or mundane world, they simply didn''t and even if they did, Null would still be a child, how could a child, Shinobi or not, be able to do all of this.


    One man though, knew quite a bit about Shinobi, and when he heard about Null an idea began forming in his mind. It took months to track down the bounty offices this unknown hunter usually went to, but once he did, he began to stake them out until one day, he spotted the hooded figure entering into the office.


    He waited outside, watching patiently. Having seen her size, he felt his heart race. As she left, he followed after from a distance, knowing how dangerous this move was, but he had to take the risk, he had to know if it was her.


    He followed her a bit down the street, and into a dark alley, when he turned the corner to follow her into it, he found the alley empty, and the pressure of a blade pressed against his spine.


    "Who are you? Why are you following me?" Came a muffled voice from beneath the mask.


    A small smile touched at his lips as he became more certain than ever.


    "I''m just looking for someone. My niece has been missing for some time, and I think... I''ve finally found her." Remus Lupin spoke as he slowly turned to face the small, hooded figure. He saw her take a step back as her eyes fell upon him.


    "Remus?" Came his name from her lips.


    His smile grew, and in an instant, she flew into him, engulfing him a tight hug.


    "When I''d heard of the possibility of a shinobi running around over here in Europe, I had a hunch on who it might be. I had to come and see for myself. I''m glad to finally find you." Remus said to her, returning the hug as he did.


    "Remus... does anyone know you''re here? What you''re looking for?" Riley asked him as she slowly separated from him, lifting her gaze to meet with his.


    "No. They''re all still chasing leads in the Elemental Nations. As far as anyone knows I simply chose to return home." Remus responded, causing Riley to let out a sigh of relief.


    "I see. That''s good." Riley stated.


    "Kakashi told me about what happened, about why you left. How are you? How have you been?" Remus asked her, kneeling down so that he was eye level with her.


    "Surviving. I''m actually doing quite well for myself." Riley responded with a shrug.


    "So I''ve heard. Made quite the name for yourself." He hummed, and then let out a chuckle.


    "Come on, let''s get off the street and go talk. It''s not safe for me to be out and about looking like this. Criminals like to track my movements and keep an eye on me." Riley said to him. Remus nodded in understanding and followed after her. She led him to a quiet place just outside of the town they were in, so they could talk.


    Once they reached a place, Riley took a seat and removed her mask, lowering her hood as she did.


    Remus let out a chuckle upon seeing her.


    "You''ve grown." He noted.


    "And you''re still raggedy looking Remus." She threw back at him as a good-natured jibe.


    He smirked at that, his hands falling into his pockets. He stared at her for a good long while before finally speaking. "How are you, really?"


    Riley stared back for several seconds before she responded. "I''m alright. It''s a bit lonely, but I''m free. I''m free to live how I want too. No one around to tell me how to live or what to do. No one to forget me or ignore me when they''re supposed to care. It''s pleasant. As pleasant as it can be for someone like me." Riley answered him honestly.


    "Narumi... I can''t imagine how you must feel. I''m just happy you''re doing alright." Remus offered to her.


    "Not Narumi. I gave up that name. My name is Riley now. Riley Uzumaki-Uchiha." Riley informed him, causing him to blink curiously and digest that information.


    "Well, I suppose I don''t need to wonder why you changed your name, but why Uzumaki-Uchiha?" Remus asked her.


    "After my grandparents. The Fourth''s parents. I know who they are. One is an Uzumaki, the other an Uchiha." Riley answered him, again causing him to blink in surprise as he took that in.


    "I''m sure there''s a story there." Remus mused as he approached her and sat beside her.


    "There is, a bit of a long story I''m afraid." She spoke.


    "Well, I''d love to hear it, and though I know you don''t need it, I plan on sticking around if you''ll have me. I know you can take care of yourself, but it wouldn''t be right to leave you alone. So, I''ll be around, if you want to talk, or just want someone to spend time with." Remus offered to her, causing a smile to form and spread across her face.


    "Thanks Remus, I really appreciate that. I''d love to have you around." She replied.


    The next few weeks were a bit strange as she invited Remus to come and stay with her at her apartment in Paris. She had two rooms, so there was plenty of space for him. She was overjoyed to have him back, but there was a certain degree of caution from her. As happy as she was to have her uncle in all but blood around, she kept quiet about a lot of things, and Remus could tell she was being careful with what she said.


    This wasn''t necessarily born of a distrust for him, but rather a general need for secrecy. She kept things to herself and wasn''t overly talkative about personal issues.


    From Remus she learned a lot about what had happened after she left.


    When the bodies were discovered and the blame placed on her, everyone and their mother came out of the woodwork to proclaim how they''d always knew she was trouble, and not a single person spoke out against the accusation. Those with doubts, like himself, like Kakashi, like the Ichirakus were drown out by the roar of condemnation and demands for retribution for the murders of good loyal members of the Hidden Leaf. Then more bodies began to stack up, and the calls grew louder. Minato and Lily seemed resigned to hunting her down. Lily openly spoke of her regret surrounding Riley, and how she always knew she''d end up being trouble. The only person who was distinctly quiet about the situation was Naruko. On the outside she remained her boisterous colorful self, in private she was becoming more like Riley. Quiet, and thoughtful. Remus had seen it a few times, though he noted how Naruko grew angry whenever Riley was brought up, and she openly declared her intention to bring her sister back to the village one day. It became her driving force in the academy which as far as Remus knew she was getting top marks in.


    Riley wasn''t overly thrilled hearing all of this, but she could do nothing to change it. Remus noted the distinct lack of sadness and pain in Riley''s eyes, instead he saw only anger. She''d grown a lot since departing from the village, and it showed in her heightened maturity. Despite not belonging to any village or association, she had certainly become a shinobi in her own right.


    Despite the growing pains, the two were happy to be together again.


    Eventually the time would come when Remus had to deal with his furry little problem. The man was a werewolf, so on the night of the full moon he had to go away from the city and find a place to keep himself contained. Riley went with him and offered to stand guard to make sure nothing happened which Remus tentatively accepted.


    -Four hours later-


    Riley could hear the hellish growling and snarling coming from within the shack. She heard the rattling of chains and violent movement from the wolf trapped inside.


    "Gods if this keeps up, he''s gonna really hurt himself." Riley groaned to herself.


    "Got a plan to make it stop? A cure for lycanthropy perhaps?" Madara mused.


    Riley sat for a moment, before an idea came to her, she hopped down from the tree she was in and threw open the barred door to find the towering wolf-like creature chained inside. Upon seeing her, the wolf lunged at her, barely making it halfway across the cabin before its chains pulled taught. With the wolf''s attention, Riley''s Sharingan blazed to life, and she locked eyes with it.


    "Sleep." Riley commanded, putting the wolf under an illusion and placing it into a dream filled sleep. She made sure he dreamed of deer and elk, all the tasty food he could want.


    The wolf remained restless as it slept but ultimately didn''t awaken. Come morning, Remus transformed back into himself, and a few hours later, began to stir.


    Remus awoke on hard floor of the cabin, still chained up as he had been.


    "Feeling alright there Remus?" He heard a familiar voice say from nearby.


    Remus looked up to see Riley sitting on the old dusty couch on the far side of the room.


    "Riley... how?" Remus managed to say as he winced at the sunlight peeking in through the cabin blinds.


    "Used an illusion to knock you unconscious. Seemed to work at keeping the wolf asleep, how do you feel?" Riley replied as she tossed his wand and a wool cloak to him. Remus used his wand to undo the chains and transfigured the cloak into his normal outfit.


    "I actually feel far better than I normally do. Not nearly as exhausted." Remus said to her, earning a nod from Riley.


    "Good. Well since that worked than I can knock you out every time you transform so you don''t have to worry about any accidents." She offered to him.


    "I-I appreciate that, Riley. I know that stunning spells don''t work on werewolves, but I''ve never thought to try Genjutsu." Remus said.


    "Whelp, like I said, it worked, and if you feel better than normal, I say we stick with it. Now come on, I''m sure you''re hungry. I certainly am." She offered to him, he offered a hum of agreement and joined after her.


    It wasn''t long after this that Remus began teaching Riley more about performing magic. She had taken to using wands she stole off of the witches and wizards she''d killed, looking for one that worked best for her. Having Remus to actually teach her meant that she was actually able to begin learning some of the finer points of magic, like wand movement. After learning of her intention to go to Hogwarts when she turned Eleven, Remus suggested they visit Ollivanders to find a wand suited to her. So that was added to the list of things to do down the line, but for now they stuck to learning with stolen wands.


    Another interesting thing that occurred was that she stumbled upon her ability to use Wood Style. She had been practicing a water and earth combination technique, when she botched it, and it accidentally came out as Wood Style.


    The act had surprised the hell out of her, and Remus when he''d seen her do it.


    After overcoming his own surprise Madara applauded her at awakening the power. Being a direct descendant of Hashirama, she was the only one of his line known to possess the legendary Wood Style.


    Madara began teaching her how to use Wood Style based off of the techniques and abilities he''d copied from Hashirama during their time fighting one another all those years ago.


    Eventually Madara would even get around to clearing up the nature of his relationship with Hashirama, and how he''d survived his supposed death at the Final Valley. Madara explained that Hashirama had given him some of his cells, when he was dying in the Valley of the End, in order to heal him. According to him, the story of his death at the Valley, was actually a lie told by Hashirama so that Madara could leave and live in peace. Yes, the two did have a legendary battle that created the valley itself, but it was not a battle to settle old grudges the two just wanted to fight again, test themselves at their best, without an audience or spectators to judge the end result. They both fought at their best, and in the end Hashirama won.


    Apparently Madara had received the ability to use Wood style after Hashirama''s transfusion. So not only could she learn about techniques from the original practitioner but from some abilities that Madara had created as well.


    Learning to use Wood Style became a passion for Riley as she dreamed of one day surpassing her grandparents. Madara, Kaguya, Mito, and even Hashirama himself.


    Madara and Kurama both encouraged her in this pursuit, her passion for learning and overcoming her limits driving her onwards.


    Aside from magic, and Wood Style her other primary area of study was learning more about biology and the human body from Madara. That included the healing jutsu that he knew, allowing her to learn how to heal injuries through the use of the Mystical Palm Technique.


    It was several months after meeting with Remus again when Riley arrived to drop off a bounty at the offices. The man at the desk, who''d worked there for years and knew her, told her that someone had left a letter for her.


    She took the letter with her and after having a Clone check it for any hidden dangers or charms, she read it.


    ''Null, I am sending this letter to thank you for what you''ve done for my family. You are responsible for saving the lives of myself and my daughters. Your actions that day kept us from meeting a far grislier fate. Thanks to you, I yet live, and hold onto my sanity. Thanks to you my daughters have recovered well. We think about you often and wish more than anything to express our gratitude for saving our lives. So thank you. Thank you for being there that day. Thank you for saving our lives. Words cannot express how grateful we are for your heroic actions. Though unlikely, I wish to extend this offer to you so that we may meet and thank you in person. I do not know how long it will take this letter to reach you, as I''ve sent it to one of the bounty offices you are known to utilize. If you would accept our offer, please feel free to contact me at my office and we can work out the details, otherwise, accept our most sincere gratitude and stay safe. Well wishes from house Delacour and with endearing respect and admiration. -Jean Delacour.''


    Riley sat stared off for several long moments before rereading the letter. She felt a smile touch at her lips, a sense of accomplishment, as well as humility washing over her. Rescuing those people wasn''t something she sought gratitude for, or even recognition, and yet receiving it, was a new feeling. She certainly wasn''t familiar with receiving praise for her actions outside of the two voices in her head.


    Still, it felt good, so after sharing the news with Remus and telling him about what had happened that lead to the letter being sent, he encouraged her to respond. It didn''t matter whether or not she chose to meet with Jean Delacour, but at the least she could write a letter in reply.


    So that''s exactly what Riley did. She wrote a letter to him, thanking him for reaching out to her and after giving it some thought she''d be alright with a meeting. She also left instructions for how to respond to her, sending the letter to be held by the goblins, just have it addressed to Null, and the goblins would hold it for her.


    A week went by before the letter arrived. It was a simple letter, asking to meet with her at a rented conference room at Gringotts in a few days'' time. If she was fine with that, she could send her acknowledgement to his office, and they''d meet then.


    So she sent her response and a few days later, she sat in the conference room, hidden beneath her cloak and mask, waiting for Jean to arrive.


    He was escorted in at the appointed time, his eyes immediately falling on her.


    She rose to her feet and crossed the room to stand before the man. He seemed much taller than she remembered him being. Tall and broad. Muscular with dark features. Free from the effects of the Torture Curse he looked far more like you''d expect the Chief of magical law enforcement to look. His deep blue eyes, matching Riley''s own.


    "Chief Delacour. Pleased to see you again." Riley greeted him.


    "Null... You seem well." He responded, eying her intently.


    "As well as can be expected." She responded with a shrug.


    "So... I''d like to start out by offering my sincerest of thanks for saving my life, and the lives of my children. It was a noble and selfless act, and I cannot thank you enough for it. My children are alive today because of you, and you have my eternal gratitude for it." Jean offered to her, gaining a nod of acceptance from Riley.


    "I appreciate it, but it''s not needed. I would have helped anyone in similar circumstances, I hate bullies, and people who prey on innocent lives just because they can." Riley responded to him.


    "Your modesty is commendable, yet my gratitude still stands. My wife and my daughters are here, they wished to offer their thanks as well, I wanted to speak to you first though, to get a measure of you. I''ve followed your work for a while now. You are a shinobi, aren''t you?" Jean told her.


    "Yeah, I am." Riley responded.


    "What are you doing here? Not that I am ungrateful, but what is a shinobi, let alone one so young, doing so far from your homeland?" Jean asked her.


    "I was run out of my homeland. A man sent his servants to capture me. He wanted me for reasons unknown to me. I killed the men he sent, so he framed me as a murderer. More shinobis were sent after me as well, so I killed them too. I wasn''t going to let myself be dragged back to that village and prosecuted for defending myself. They chased after me. I didn''t go after them. If they''d just left me alone, none of this would have happened. Now five of them are dead, and here I am. As far from those lands as I could think to get." Riley answered honestly, causing the man to blink in surprise, his gaze then turned hard.


    "Is that the reason for the mask?" He asked her.


    "Partly, yeah." She responded with another shrug.


    "I see. This man who attacked you, you have no idea what he wanted from you?" Jean inquired curiously.


    "I got mixed up in some nasty business surrounding one of the village''s dirty secrets. Maybe he wanted to figure out what I knew. Maybe he''d heard of my growing skills and wanted me to join him. Maybe he''s just a bastard. Sadly, I don''t know. He murdered my best friend though. Maybe he was worried I knew that. Like I said, I don''t know for certain. Didn''t ask. When his men tried to take me, I killed them." She answered him.


    "I''m sorry to hear that. You have my condolences, for your friend." Jean offered to her.


    "Thanks. Don''t worry though about your family. If you''re concerned about me, then we can part ways right now, no hard feelings. I wouldn''t want anyone to get wrapped up in me without knowing that there are dangers." Riley said.


    "I can assure you; we are no strangers to danger. As you no doubt remember. Less so now, thanks to you. Your attacks against the Consortium have largely driven them out of France. The low-level guys are too afraid to work anywhere around these parts for fear of Null and meeting their end. Though rumors I hear is that the Consortium is cannibalizing itself because that it true everywhere. They fear to go outside, and their competitors are tearing them apart because of it." Jean spoke in response, earning a soft smile from Riley beneath her mask.


    "Really? Well like I said, I don''t like people like that, so I figured I''d make them my personal training dummies and do the world a favor while I was at it." Riley noted.


    "As an officer of the law I cannot condone vigilante justice. As a man with a family, you won''t find me shedding a tear for them." Jean agreed with the sentiment of removing them.


    A moment of silence passed before a knock came at the door. Jean turned to it and gave it a thoughtful look before heading over to open it and allow his family access. Riley watched as three blonde haired women entered all at once. They looked like mirrored images of each other. Pretty, lovely, blonde hair, bright blue eyes, sharp features and each of them had a radiance to them, something unnatural and magical that seemed to draw attention to their looks.


    Their attention collectively landed on Riley, the youngest girl, moved a bit behind her mother, smiling shyly at her, while the eldest daughter, seemed to take in a breath at the sight of her.


    "Ladies, this is Null. Null, my wife Appoline, my daughters, Fleur, and Gabrielle." Jean introduced them.


    "This is Null? When you mentioned they were a child, I didn''t know what to think." Appoline spoke.


    "Mrs. Delacour. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." Riley said to her, her eyes briefly flickering to the oldest daughter, the sight of her, her face specifically, no longer stained by tears, brought back that strong feeling. She was happy to see her, wanted to talk to her even. It was just like the feeling with Kaede.


    "Oh, the pleasure is mine. You saved my husband and children from those vile criminals. I owe you my whole world." Appoline returned with gratefulness.


    "I appreciate the thanks, but it''s not necessary." Riley shook her head.


    "Ah but it is. You saved my entire family from certain death. A debt is owed there. Even if I felt otherwise, we are Veela, there is powerful magic that surrounds us. Your act, as selfless as it was, demands repayment." Appoline responded, causing Riley to blink in surprise.


    "You''re Veela? I see. This debt you''re referring to, it''s not a magical one, is it?" Riley asked, having heard of such things in the past and how magic could force repayment between parties for acts such as saving a life, while at risk of losing your own.


    "It is not a full-blown life debt, as from my understanding of the events, only my husband was immediately in danger of dying, but we all know where it would have ended. They would not have spared any of them. Once they were finished, my husband and children would have been dead. No, this is a debt owed by our Veela magic, and by house Delacour. My husband is the patriarch of our house, and Fleur is the heiress, saving them as selflessly as you did, imbibes a debt." Apolline explained to her.


    "I see. Then all I ask for in repayment of that debt is your friendship. Extend that to me and all debts owed between my clan and your house are settled." Riley responded, her words causing Apolline and Jean to blink in surprise.


    Seeing their surprise, Riley took in a breath and removed her mask, lowering her hood as she did.


    "I would also ask for your secrecy in regard to my true identity. I am the Lord of the Uzumaki Clan, and Head of the main line of the Uchiha clan, and Daimyo to the broken country of Uzu no Kuni." Her words drew astonishment from the two adults, though the younger girls didn''t fully grasp what her words meant, they were more interested in her appearance.


    "You''re a lord?" Fleur questioned.


    "But you look like a girl." Gabrielle followed up.


    "I am a girl. In some cultures, the title of lord is used interchangeably between sexes. In the Uzumaki clan, all power rests with the lord, aside from the heir or heiress, there are no other titles like lady for example. I would be considered Lady Uchiha though, as the Uchiha do recognize feminine other titles besides that of lord, as well as Lady Daimyo." Riley responded to the two girls.


    "Wow..." Gabrielle uttered.


    "You ask for House Delacour''s friendship in repayment for the debt owed to you, and you shall have it. You came to our help in a time of need, with no thoughts to your own self-interest. That is truly commendable, and we thank you for it." Jean said to her, gaining a smile from Riley.


    "Thanks." Riley said, sensing that this was the start of hopefully another friendship, her eyes settled onto Fleur, who had this curious look in her eyes, as if sizing Riley up. She didn''t know why, but Riley felt something there, something that reminded her of how she felt around Kaede. Her curiosity piqued Riley decided to explore if maybe she could form another friendship with the eldest daughter of House Delacour. If nothing else, it''d be nice to have another friend.


    Regardless of what the future held, today had been a very productive and eventful day.


    -To Be Continued-

 Destined Path

    For the first time in her life, Riley felt genuinely happy.


    The trauma of her past that had long haunted her steps had finally begun to slip away into an afterthought. Her newly made friendship with the Delacour family, as well as having Remus back in her life, set her up to really begin blossoming.


    Firstly, with the Delacours, she became a common fixture around their house, spending time there to hang out with Fleur and Gabrielle. Fleur was a bit older than her at twelve and currently went to Beauxbatons academy, while Gabrielle was only six. Gabrielle idolized Riley, like a knight in shining armor, she was always eager to hear stories of Riley''s adventures and her heroics, and was excited whenever she was around to visit. Fleur was far more composed but Riley could hear the excitement in her steps whenever she came by and she could hear Fleur race through her house, only to slow down before entering to pretend at some measure of composure.


    Though her friendship with Gabrielle was far more sisterly, her friendship with Fleur was a bit more intricate, and somewhat confusing for Riley. Fleur was always eager to be around Riley but shied away from Riley''s touch. A tap on the shoulder, a hug, brushing hands while walking, Fleur weirdly became nervous whenever the two happened to make contact but Riley didn''t quite understand why. She liked being close to Fleur, loved to hear her laugh or see her smile. Hell she''d even started dreaming of that wonderful, almost radiant smile that the young Veela would sometimes give her. She didn''t really get it, but she knew she enjoyed it, so she was always trying to get a smile from Fleur.


    Her aversion to contact was never remotely negative, instead it simply made Fleur appear to be nervous. She would blush, or shy away from her if they made contact, and Riley simply didn''t get it. She tried asking Madara about it, and Kurama, but both of them gave her a metaphorical shrug before chuckling to themselves, which Riley found suspicious. Despite their obvious distaste for one another, or more so Kurama''s distaste for Madara, the two acted a lot like one another whenever they were teasing her about something.


    Still, without concrete answers she was left to only guess, and she had no answer.


    Time would pass, during the week, Fleur went to school at the academy, on the weekends she came home. She was bummed when she learned of Riley''s intention to go across the channel and join Hogwarts, and she tried to convince her to come to Beauxbatons but Riley was adamant about going to Hogwarts, she wanted to go to the oldest magical school and have access to those magical secrets. The place also had a history for her. She grew up hearing about Hogwarts from Remus, and occasionally Lily, and she now wanted to go there and surpass the woman who''d played almost no part in raising her. Lily had always been well regarded for her genius and skills in magic, so Riley hoped to surpass her.


    This second reason she left unsaid, but she did share the first with Fleur who was bummed at not having Riley as a schoolmate but eventually conceded that it was probably better this way. The girls at Beauxbatons were uptight and a bunch of bullies, they would probably spend all of their time harassing Riley anyways and make studying impossible. This had been said with a bit of bitterness that Riley sensed had deeper connotations.


    As an added reason, while studying up on the country she''d eventually live in, Riley learned that it would actually be much easier for her to enter into multiple marriages and take on multiple partners in order to restore the Uzumaki. Britain had certain laws that were more open to allowing such things than France did, which Riley also counted as a boon. When she told Fleur this, the Veela reacted with surprise, this being the first she''d heard of Riley''s intention of eventually taking on more than one partner, when she inquired about it, Riley expressed that she was one of the last of a powerful bloodline and sought to rebuild it. In order to do so, she''d have to take on multiple female partners if she wanted that goal to be achieved in her lifetime.


    With a bit of hesitance, Fleur inquired if that meant that Riley preferred girls over boys. Riley had to think on that for a bit. She''d never really thought of a boy as a romantic partner. The only boy she could imagine herself falling in love with one day, and trying to build a family with was Shisui, and that realization made her sad. It filled her with regret and sorrow, as she realized that her old friend fit the criteria for what kind of man she''d have wanted to be with, sans her ambitions. She couldn''t have Shisui though, he was dead and gone. Without him, she couldn''t picture being with a man. Girls though, her mind turned towards Fleur and she found herself blushing. She gave Fleur an affirmation that she did like girls, which sent the Veela blushing up a storm.


    Fleur couldn''t hide her elation at hearing that, and she was in a great mood for the rest of the day.


    While her friendship with the sisters grew, her relationship with Fleur continued to deepen.


    With Remus, Riley''s trust in him also began to grow and she shared a bit more with him as time went on. Bit by bit, truth by truth she shared things with him until one day she finally asked him about Kushina Uzumaki.


    He seemed surprised by her question, wondering how she knew of her, but Riley kept his focus on the question, asking him if he knew her.


    He responded that he''d only ever seen her in person once, but knew of her through his friendship with Minato. He did make mention of her being a romantic rival to Lily, and how she was probably the only person in the world, Lily actually despised.


    He noted that with a chuckle but when he saw the seriousness on Riley''s face he once more questioned her about Kushina and her knowledge of her.


    Riley eventually revealed the truth to him. She told him what she knew regarding the situation surrounding her birth. He sat quietly and listened as she told him about how Lily was unable to have children due to an illness so a workaround was found and Kushina was chosen to play a part in it, and how it ended up with two children carrying all three of their parents DNA. She told him about how she''d been born to Kushina, but when her mother died, Minato and Lily raised her. She told him how she knew that there intention had always been to take her from her mother so that she wouldn''t be an issue, and erase Kushina''s memories so she wouldn''t cause a fuss. Luckily for them, Kushina had died during the Nine Tails Attack.


    She made sure Remus understood that it was for this reason she absolutely hated Minato and Lily and wished a cold and violent death upon them.


    Remus struggled to believe it, though he couldn''t dismiss it as it made sense as to the reason for the distinct separation in their treatment of their twin daughters. He also distinctly remembered Lily''s complaints about getting pregnant and about the trouble they were having, and again he knew of her hatred for Kushina so if there was one person who his old friend despised enough to want to hurt like that, it would have been Kushina Uzumaki.


    For Riley, it felt good to finally get that off her chest, to tell someone the truth that she''d been carrying all this time. Though he struggled to believe these things, he didn''t deny them either. That was enough for Riley, a willingness to believe her was all she really wanted from him. He''d come to his own conclusions in time, for now she just needed him to be willing to hear the truth.


    This allowed their relationship to grow and for Riley to begin opening up more to him about her problems, which included things like growing up. She''d changed a lot since leaving Konoha and her body was constantly growing and changing, having someone other than her grandfather and Kurama to ask about these things was welcoming.


    Time progressed, and Riley felt her friendship with both Remus and the Delacours grow and the more it grew, the more she came out of her shell acting more like a child her own age. It was a side of her that Remus had never seen before, but watching her be so bubbly and playful around Fleur and Gabrielle brought him joy. It actually reminded him a lot of Naruko. The two were very much alike in their personalities, it was just their circumstances that affected how they displayed those traits.


    Several months before she turned eleven Riley began applying for citizenship in Britain, so she could attend Hogwarts. The process would take a bit, thankfully because of how Hogwarts worked she wouldn''t get her letter to attend until after her eleventh birthday and by that point in time the school year would have started so she had a little over a year until she could join, she''d actually be nearly twelve before she started.


    It was something she enjoyed, it made her hopeful for the future.


    Several more months passed, Riley had turned eleven and was out hunting down a high ranking magical criminal out in eastern Europe.


    She tailed her target for days and one night moved to engage him and his two body guards. She killed one easily, dropping down onto his back, she drove a knife into his neck. She swiftly tossed a kunai at the head of the other guard, expecting him to go down just as easily, but he did not. With unnatural speed he leaned backwards and away from the strike.


    With another movement he raised his arm and a red bolt of magic launched at her, causing her to leap away from her current target, and land several meters back.


    "Seems I made the right choice." Her target spoke, turning to face her and back behind his guard, a person she now recognized wasn''t a wizard, but in fact was a mage.


    "So this is Null¡­ I''d heard you were a child, but I didn''t quite believe it." The unknown mage spoke. He had short blonde hair and a tattoo running down the side of his face, almost like black lightning. He had pale skin, and cool green eyes. He took a fighting posture as he stared her down.


    A cool smirk spread across his face, and he made a show of snapping his fingers before staring her down. The instant he snapped, the world seemed to ripple around them, the surrounding buildings seemed to slant and elongate in on themselves, like some sort of warped painting.


    She stared back, mentally cursing. Her eyes went wide as she saw magic begin to fill the air around her.


    "Is this an illusion?" Riley wondered.


    "No. A barrier of some sort." Madara noted, having seen such effects through the eyes of his own Sharingan in the past.


    "A sensor-type shinobi. That would explain how you''ve managed to pull off such an impressive kill-streak." The mage spoke, taking note of the way she was glancing around, reading her reaction.


    "He threw up a barrier? How did he do that so fast? No¡­ someone else is here. Someone else is helping him. They knew I was coming, and he''s heard about Shinobi. This isn''t good." Riley realized, as she took on a defensive stance, and activated Kamui, her intention being to avoid any surprise attacks.


    She felt a strain against her eyes, and took note that she couldn''t feel the typical stillness of her Kamui dimension.


    "What is happening?!" She felt worry begin to touch at her senses, when the attack came. The mage charged at her, magic lighting up his body as he rocketed forward in a blitz of incredible speed.


    She was barely able to curse as he laid into her with martial arts. The two traded blows, Riley blocked and dodged, mentally cursing as pain racked through her from the force of his blows. Whoever this man was, he knew how to use magic to empower his body to superhuman levels, and he was a skilled combatant.


    She was forced to block strikes that she normally could have allowed to pass through her, for some reason her Kamui wasn''t working. Whatever was happening, it didn''t seemed to affect her Sharingan but the ability of Kamui didn''t seem to be functioning at all.


    "I know what you''re thinking Null, and you''d be wise to try it. Fleeing this place, escaping my trap, that would be the smart thing to do. Thing is, you aren''t going anywhere." The mage spoke to her.


    "Your barrier?" She recognized what he was referring to when he said that.


    "An ancient craft born from years of study. I know you can teleport, the question is how. So many methods, and with you being a Shinobi, that means there''s also space-time manipulation to consider. Even in one so young, with a body-count as high as yours I''d be a fool not to take every possibility into account. This new reality around us stops all passage through it. Nothing comes in, nothing goes out. You are trapped in here with me." The Mage said to her as the two traded blows.


    "Who the hell are you?" Riley questioned as she started fighting more defensively, realizing that she couldn''t use Kamui to escape, if this barrier or whatever he''d done was blocking space-time techniques.


    "Friedrich, Friedrich Yurik. A pleasure to meet you Null. I''ve been admiring your work for some time." Friedrich said to her, kicking her hard in the chest and sending her flying back. She landed and took a moment to catch her breath, the man was an immensely skilled fighter, she was quickly learning.


    From the twisted corridors around them, figures began to emerge, almost two dozen men, wizards by the looks of them, given most were carrying wands, though a few weren''t, appearing to be vampires or perhaps werewolves.


    "Seems you''re not alone." Riley noted, cursing internally at how vastly outnumbered she was. Her eyes briefly flickered to the man she''d been targeting a criminal wizard with powerful connections to a major organization that operated in and around this country. He was watching this all go down with a prideful smirk.


    "No friends of mine, I assure you. Just hired muscle, and here to make sure you don''t run away." Friedrich responded with a shake of the head.


    "Yurik, quick talking and finish her! This little bitch has caused enough problems for us, I paid you good money to take her down so do it!" Her mark called out, an irritated smirk spreading across Friedrich''s face.


    "Keep your dogs on a leash Marko, if any of them interfere I have no issue burying them today as well. This is my fight." Friedrich warned.


    "So this is personal?" Riley recognized.


    "A necessity born of familial pride. My family is incredibly old, and have a vibrant history stretching back for centuries. You killed one of mine. No one I knew personally, but we can''t have such an attack go unanswered. Honestly you did the world a favor, too many of my blood enjoy dabbling in the foulest or blackest of magics and deserve what they have coming to them, but I am not the one to decide such things. My purpose, my role is to defend my family line. You''ve attacked us, and earned my attention. Pride demands that I bring you down." Friedrich told her.


    "I see. So be it then." Riley threw back at him, her hands coming together to rapidly before forming handsigns. "Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bomb!"


    Friedrich dodged as a wall of earthen bullets came racing towards him. He rushed towards Riley, launching a red bolt of magic from his hand with a spoken word.


    She dodged in turn, drawing a blade as she did, she rushed towards him, meeting him in a flurry of strikes.


    She managed to draw first blood, slicing his arm with the blade, but he reacted without showing an ounce of pain. His skills as a martial artist were incredible. Were it not for her Sharingan he''d easily best her in a close range battle.


    She was waiting for the opportunity to utilize Amatsumara to pepper him with weapons and end this fight. Despite still learning the full extent of this mage''s abilities, she knew without a doubt she had him beat in terms of magic. She had more than he did, and she didn''t question that for even a moment, she could outlast him. The power he was displaying it allowed him incredible abilities, but that meant a heavy drain on his own magic. He wasn''t going to last as long as she would, she just had to be smart.


    Many minutes passed as the two traded blows and magical attacks. The red bolts of magic he fired from his palms were fast and deadly. Almost like piercing spells, designed to punch clean through their target. This seemed to be his preferred method of ranged combat, while martial arts was his greatest strength.


    She kept her focus, in the back of her mind, reminding herself that she still had to deal with the small army of wizards gathered around her and escape this barrier or whatever it was after taking down this powerful mage, so she had to be careful, and had to keep on her toes.


    The two kept fighting, Riley receiving several powerful blows that would certainly leave behind cruel purple welts in the near future.


    This had almost instantly elevated itself to the hardest fight of her life.


    She was waiting for the opening, waiting for the moment while Kurama and Madara watched from behind her eyes, leaving the air silent to allow her complete focus to be on the battle.


    Riley dodged under a punch from the mage, finally seeing her opening, she drove her blade upward into his chest, her eyes glancing over his shoulder to summon a blade behind him, aimed right at his neck.


    She saw the blade form, and for a moment felt victory, but before she could jump back and mentally send the blade into the back of the mage''s head, he grabbed her sword arm, holding it in place, he slammed his free palm into her chest with bone cracking force.


    "!"


    She heard the word. His spell. The piercing spell, jumped from his palm straight through her chest.


    Her eyes went wide, as she realized in an instant that he had purposely baited her attack in order to hold her in place.


    "Riley!/Riley!" Came the cries of Kurama and Madara as both witnessed and felt through her what happened.


    Riley was sent sailing back, a fist sized hole located where her heart should be.


    She landed in a heap, rolling to a stop near to some of the surrounding wizards who eyed her with triumph and cruelty, their wands drawn and aimed at her, ready to finish the job if it hadn''t been done already.


    "Fuck! It¡­ hurts!" Riley felt a coldness wash through her, as blood poured out of her chest. Her limbs instantly began to grow cold as a dark realization began to wash over her.


    "Riley, no! No! Goddamn it!" She heard her grandfather cry out in panic, cementing her understanding that it had happened, she''d blundered, and she was dying.


    No¡­ That was wrong. He''d hit her heart. Worse, he''d destroyed her heart with that spell. She was dead. She was gone. She felt herself sucking in a breath as that realization flooded her mind.


    "I don''t wanna die¡­" Riley gasped as everything began to darken, her vision fading into black as her life began to fade.


    "No! This can''t be happening! God''s be damned! Not again! Not again!" Madara roared in rage, as he watched powerless to save his granddaughter''s life.


    Kurama hissed out in similar anger. He''d grown to enjoy Riley these past few years. He''d had hope for her. Hope that she''d do great things and honor the memory of his father through her possession of the Rinnegan. All of that hope began to fade and he was left to curse the frailty of mortals.


    Darkness dimmed around him, as Riley''s life faded. As the darkness closed in, and he listened into Madara''s anguished cries, he couldn''t help but pity the man that he had once despised so much.


    "Aw¡­ Now what do we have here. Now is not the tiiime." Kurama heard the voice of the other demon speak as it stirred awake.


    "You''re too late! It''s over!" Kurama snarled at it''s presence. No matter what mystery surrounded it''s presence, it didn''t matter anymore. Riley was dead, and it had done nothing to help save her.


    "Ahhh, Kurama¡­ Do yooouuu want to save heerr?" The unknown demon questioned.


    "There''s nothing I can do. Her heart was destroyed. A few more moments and she''ll begin suffering from brain death. My chakra isn''t enough to heal her, not fast enough to make a difference." Kurama growled.


    "But there is a way. Will you do it? Will you give for her? Will you sacrifice for her, to restore your hope? You must choose quickly, the moment is fast approaching." The demon spoke.


    From beyond the cage, Kurama saw the shadows begin to move. Writhing tentacles of utter blackness began to writhe and undulate out from the darkness, and a sea of eerie glowing eyes began to stare back at him from the darkness, each set of eyes, belonging to an eel-like tar-black serpent, each with a mouth of teeth, ranging from twisted blades as long as a grown man''s fingers, to block-like crushing slabs designed for smashing bone.


    The serpents all stared in at him, awaiting his response.


    Kurama stared back for a moment, unsure of what the demon meant. He sensed it had a solution, a means of saving Riley''s life, of fixing her, and reviving his hope for the future. If that wasn''t reason enough to try, than maybe, just maybe the fact that he was starting to like her, was.


    "What must I do?" Kurama questioned.


    "You muuust give part of yourself. In doing so, this union will be forever. Can you stand that? To be bonded to her forever more?" The demon questioned as a blackened serpent emerged out of the darkness slithering up and through the boundaries of the cage, revealing it''s ability to pass through the seal without issue, much to Kurama''s surprise.


    The Fox took a moment to recover and once he did, he thought on the Demon''s question.


    For a moment he started to wonder before suddenly a chuckle escaped from him and he shook his head.


    "I''ve never been one to overly concern myself with the woes of tomorrow. Maybe it will be forever, or maybe not. My answer remains the same. What must I do?" The Fox decided.


    "Your heart. Give me part of your heart to give to her, then bond your chakra to hers." The demon spoke.


    "But that¡­ if I do that, her core¡­ She wont be human anymore." Kurama realized.


    "She was never human, Fox." The Demon returned, before Kurama''s eyes, the flash of a memory took place. That moment, on the day she was born, when she was struck with the killing curse.


    "She died in that moment, yet such magic cannot slay a god." The image of the Rinnegan appeared before the Fox, reminding him of just how far from ordinary, Riley actually was.


    "Since that moment she has straddled the line between living and dead. Her want for human connection, to fill the hole in her heart has ever grown with each passing year. The filling of it, has abated the change, but this death has undone all of that work. She will become a demon, become Hallow unless we act. I can save her, but she will break. You can save her, and in doing so, save her humanity. Will you do it, Kurama? Three paths are set before us. She will live no matter what we do, but what shall arise from this death will determine the fate of the world." The demon said to Kurama, explaining to him the dangers now set before them.


    Kurama was silent for a moment, recognizing the gravity of this decision. Riley had died when she was struck by the Killing Curse on the day she was born. That death, didn''t stick, due to the Rinnegan and her nature as a godlike being because of said eyes. The Killing Curse did something to her, but what that something was, Kurama didn''t fully know. She straddled the line between life and death, as the demon had said. If it meant that in the way that Kurama understood it, and it''s reference to her going Hallow meant that things truly were as dire as he imagined them to be.


    Hallows were demons, specifically an impure subset of demons born from living souls that have died, but have not moved on to the afterlife. If a soul is left in this state for too long, and begins to become resentful, it might turn Hallow, developing a hunger for the life-energies of living beings. Once a soul turned Hallow it transformed into a demon that would actively hunt and kill living things to feed on their souls. Hallows were some of the most prevalent demons in existence, due to their ability to spawn into reality. Unlike pure demons which came from another reality known as the Dark Realms, or hell, or Makai, it had many names, but in the end, it was the home of demons. Hallows were demon adjacent, or demon-like, a corruption of the living soul, which pure demons lacked. The soul as they understood it, was not something that a pure demon possessed, in many ways, pure demons were basically corrupted, sentient magic. It was far more complicated than that, and largely mysterious to the living, but it was a basic way of understanding it.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    He, as a Tailed Beast was unique to demonkind, as he possessed a soul, much like a Hallow did, but unlike a Hallow, Tailed Beasts didn''t hunger for souls. If he left Riley to die, she''d likely turn into a Hallow, especially if she''d been walking that line since she was born, the process would come quickly, but unlike other Hallows, she had the Rinnegan, that power would make her into something never seen before. A Hallow of god-like power that would likely be the doom of the world. The other demon claimed it could heal her, but in doing so, it would break her, likely ruining her mind and spirit. She''d still be human, or at least she''d be what she was now, but her mind would be broken, she''d no longer be Riley. If the Fox saved her, she''d become a Tailed Beast, like him. She''d lose her humanity in it''s current form, but she''d likely still remember it, and she''d have a soul. There was a chance she could overcome the negative aspects of a demon, and remain who she was. No matter which decision he made, Riley would suffer for it. So if suffering was inevitable regardless, than what criteria remained to define the choice? The answer was simple, which choice offered her the best chance of being who she wanted to be.


    He closed his eyes, allowing Riley''s final words to echo in his mind. ''I don''t wanna die.''


    He let out a sigh, accepting that plead as her consent to make the choice in order to save her.


    "Do it!" Kurama commanded, and in a blinding movement the serpent in the cage launched forward, burying itself into the Fox''s chest, biting a chunk out of his heart and tearing it free.


    It pulled back as Kurama let out an angry hiss of pain, the serpent and the shadow fleeing into darkness.


    A moment passed when he suddenly felt it, like a surge of sensation, his connection to Riley rapidly began to swell.


    He felt her pain, and he knew what came next would hurt her even more, but it would save her life.


    With a roar of defiance, he surged as much of his recently reacquired energy through the newfound bond and into the piece of his heart which was rapidly reshaped into Riley''s new one. He was joined in this task by the unknown Demon, which obviously held a deep investment in her survival.


    On the outside, Marko knelt over her, along with many other onlookers, Friedrich stood to the side, watching with distaste as Marko removed her mask, revealing the face of an eleven year old child.


    "Wow¡­ all of that hell from some stupid brat." Marko hummed with a dark chuckle.


    He glanced down at the mask she wore rising to his feet as he did and glancing towards his hired mage, who was removing the sword still impaled through his torso.


    "Looks like you were worth every penny." Marko said to him with a smile.


    "You can keep your money if you''ll allow me to bury her." Friedrich responded.


    "Bury her! Why do you care what happens to this little bitch?" Marko questioned with annoyance.


    "She fought well. Better than most I''ve faced. For a child who''s likely not even a teenager, she showed greater resolve and bravery than most adults I''ve met. She deserves it." Friedrich responded.


    "No, what this bitch deserves is to be fed to one of these degenerate wolves for all the trouble she''s caused me and mine. You can forget honor, or nobility, she''s far beyond any of that crap!" Marko spat in response, earning a dark glare from Friedrich.


    Before either of them could speak again, an explosion erupted from Riley''s body.


    Red energy flooded the air as blood red chakra began to bubble out of the hole in her chest. Her facial features began to shift, her eyes became blood red, and slitted, and her canines grew elongated, along either of her cheeks, three blackened whisker like marks appeared.


    The group of wizards and werewolves gathered around her staggered back and away from the rush of energy which whipped through the air, shattering the alternate reality that Friedrich had imposed upon the area.


    He watched with disbelief and amazement as Riley began to rise off the ground, almost as if she was lifted by an unseen force.


    He could see the churning blood red energy wash across her body, it''s source seemingly being the hole in her chest which he could clearly see closing as bone, muscle and flesh regrew over it.


    She reached her feet, when suddenly a blackened aura began to erupt out of her chest where the wound had once been. Her hands shot to this point, as a feral scream of rage and pain exploded out of her mouth. Her hands circled something, and the troop watched as she began pulling the hilt of a sword from the shadow upon her chest.


    The process appeared painful, agonizingly slow as she pulled and tugged against the hilt. Her screams unleashed torrents of magic that threw the wind about, shattering glass in the surrounding buildings, and nearby cars.


    Suddenly, and with great force, Riley finally ripped the hilt free, a long curved blade coming along with it.


    In her hand she had what appeared to a be simple katana. It was large for the blade-type, and appeared overly so in Riley''s hand. The hilt was wrapped in red cloth, the cross-guard was round, and appeared to be made of silver. On both sides it reflected an image, the sun and the moon on either side of the blade, surrounded by a ring of tomoe that ran along the perimeter of the cross-guard. The blade itself was a glimmering white steel, radiant and beautiful, a stark contrast to the monster now wielding it.


    With the blade ripped free, the mass of shadow upon her chest, bubbled out of existence.


    The moment the blackness faded, the red rushed outward. Red energy coated her entire body, shaping and forming around her like a living thing.


    Riley continued to hiss and growl in pain and rage, holding the sword in one hand, her knuckles white from the force of the grip.


    The troop of onlookers had a hard time seeing her through the force of the unnatural wind that seemed to pour off of her body.


    From around the back of her head, blood-red chunks of flesh seemed to crawl over her, bits of flesh that darkened and hardened as they rose to the sides of her head.


    On both sides, this splattering of flesh, the apparent remnants of her heart, coalesced and hardened into what appeared to be two halves of a mask.


    These halves solidified and then began to slide forward, coming together over her face forming a complete mask.


    This mask was bone-white, and shaped in the visage of a grinning demon. The face was split in a hellish grin. On the left half black wisps of energy emerged out of the eye-hole and flowed backwards across the left side of the face and forehead. Upon the right half of the mask were seven kanji writings, spaced evenly apart from brow to chin, each symbol was a different color. Starting at the top, in green the word willpower, in yellow the word Fear, in Red the word anger, in blue the word hope, in orange the word greed, in indigo the word compassion, and finally in violet the word love.


    All seven of these markings blazed with their respective color, radiating magic like a visible flame coming from them.


    "What are you?" Friedrich questioned as she lifted her gaze to them.


    In her eyes he saw something that made his blood run cold. Her eyes glowed blood red, and within them, a black ripple pattern stretched across them.


    "Those eyes! Could it be¡­" He suddenly recognized, only for Riley to throw her head back and let out a scream of monstrous rage. The wind whipping at them, now slammed against the crowd of wizards with brutal force, knocking some of them to the ground. Windows across the town burst, and cars began whining as their alarms went off.


    "Avada Kadavra!" The scream of the killing curse came from somewhere in the crowd, a lance of green light cut through the air, striking Riley in the head, a patch of her hair bleaching white from the dark magic. She twisted with the strike, the air filling with a deathly silence as the wind suddenly stopped, and her scream died in her throat.


    Stillness held as they waited for her to collapse, only for her to turn her head towards the crowd, the blazing red in her eyes shining with inhuman malevolence.


    Screams of panic went up as she burst forward with impossible speed.


    Friedrich watched as she carved through the crowd, slicing them to pieces like some sort of twisted blender. Two werewolves and a vampire were part of the collection and yet the sword she carried killed them just as easily as it did the humans.


    Blood sprayed through the air as limbs sailed about. Bodies burst and tore apart as the red energy coating her body flayed apart flesh even before she made contact.


    The blood that drenched her body, instantly began to boil off of her as she carved through the crowd.


    "DO SOMETHING!" Marko screamed at him. Friedrich blinked, recognizing that he''d been frozen in place.


    In a burst of speed he leaped onto the roof of a nearby building, leaving Marko and the rest to their fate on the street below.


    Marko cursed, and began to apparate only for Riley to explode out of the crowd and reach him. He hardly let out a shout as she tore him limb from limb, screaming like some sort of possessed animal the entire time.


    Friedrich watched this happen, amazement and disbelief shining in his eyes.


    "It can''t be! They were just stories! But those eyes¡­ Those eyes!" He couldn''t escape the deathly glare of those ripple-patterned eyes staring back at him from beneath that bone-like mask.


    With as much strength as he could muster, he tore his gaze away from the slaughter, and began to run. He needed to escape, he needed to get away from this before he met the same fate as his employer.


    Riley continued to rage, hammering the ground and screaming, even as people began to arrive, citizens from the town, police. They began to appear.


    The police tried to confront her, but couldn''t quite comprehend what they were seeing. Riley charged them, cutting them apart too. Like a beast possessed she killed every living thing she encountered.


    Minutes passed, minutes of nothing but red, when finally she came to a halt, and with a final scream, unleashed her colossal power in one final attack.


    Friedrich had just made it to the edge of town when the air stilled. He turned around, half expecting Riley to be in pursuit of him, but he saw nothing, only hearing the occasional sound of gunfire as the muggles tried desperately to stop the rampaging monster. An ominous aura filled the air, covering the entire town in it''s terror. The streets were beginning to line with people as they heard the gunshots or had their windows blown out from the rampant magic.


    "Such power¡­" Friedrich recognized.


    It came suddenly, and without warning. He saw in the distance, buildings began to fall. It was so fast, just an expanding dome of collapsing buildings that came rushing outward from a central point.


    Panic filled him as he turned and focused all of his magic into his legs. In a burst of speed he launched himself away from the oncoming blast, escaping out into the forest, even as he heard the screams of the people as they were consumed by the incoming attack.


    The crushing sound was unlike anything he''d heard before. Despite his fear, he couldn''t help but turn back, and what he saw, stole his breath away.


    The town was gone.


    A town of nearly twenty thousand people, gone in a moment.


    A massive crater stretched out before him, like a perfect half-dome in the ground. Floating in the air, about where the ground would have been, he could see Riley. The red glow of the magic surrounding her body was unmistakable.


    "Goddess¡­ such power¡­" Friedrich gasped, before turning to continue running. He didn''t want to risk still being here any longer.


    He had seen something today, something born of stories he''d heard all his life. He''d never been much of a believer, but today, he''d seen it with his own eyes. All those stories, every tale he''d heard from across his life. Could they all be true? He needed to go. He needed to do something he never thought he would. The idea alone made his skin crawl, but he needed to reach out to his older brother. He needed to speak to Sebastian.


    So with that decision hammered into his mind, he continued to flee, leaving Riley alone with the devastation of what she''d done.


    The enraged Jinchuriki held in the air for several more moments before she descended to the ground. Her gaze passed out over the surrounding crater, taking in the devastation and destruction.


    After several long moments her body began moving again, racing out of the crater and away from all of this, taking her to a safe place.


    For Riley, she still felt herself in the moment of her death. The fear, the panic, the hopelessness and anguish. It all stayed with her, like some kind of waking nightmare. For Riley, the experience was both the longest thing she''d ever felt, and yet it was also over in an instant. The wash of dreadful emotions, the feeling of hopelessness and despair, it felt like she was in hell.


    Her return to consciousness came suddenly. She felt tapping on her cheek, the sound of crying caught her ears.


    Her eyes opened, and she instantly felt awful. A phantom pain lingered in her chest, and she let out a groan.


    "Riley!" "You''re awake." She heard two familiar voices say. She blinked, her vision focusing. She caught the sight of Fleur hovering over her, tears streaming down her face. A look of worry, fear, and panic quickly melting away into relief as their eyes met. Beside her was her father, who was waving his wand over her, running a diagnostic spell.


    "Fleur? Why are you crying?" Riley asked her, reaching up to touch at a fresh tear that streaked down the Veela''s cheek.


    "You scared me half to death! You were soaked in blood! I thought something had happened to you! You wouldn''t wake up!" Fleur responded harshly, anger coloring her voice.


    "Where am I?" Riley asked, her throat felt bone dry, and she all around felt awful.


    "My room." Fleur said to her, calming down as she did..


    "Your room?" Riley repeated, shaking her head and sitting up. She felt a head rush, and her vision blurred. Fleur called out for her, as she started to list, and quickly caught her.


    "I feel awful¡­" Riley groaned, resting her head against Fleur''s chest. Fleur held her there, gently petting her head to try and comfort her.


    "It appears whatever injuries you suffered, they have healed already." Jean said to her.


    "Healed, she was soaked in blood. Her shirt is torn through, front and back." Fleur spoke up.


    Riley reached up again, rubbing at the scarred flesh in the center of her chest, she felt Fleur touch at the scarred flesh on her back as well, gently tracing it, the skin was tender, feeling raw and overly sensitive.


    "I''m alive¡­ how." Riley hummed.


    It took her a few long moments to pull away from Fleur, when she did, she offered her friend a grateful smile, which caused Fleur to blush, and avert her gaze.


    "What happened to you?" Jean asked her.


    "Got into a fight, turned out bad, not sure how I ended up here." Riley replied, summarizing the incident.


    "I woke up and found you curled up at the end of my bed. You would not wake up and you were covered in dirt and blood, you were clutching to your sword like it was some kind of lifeline, you wouldn''t let it go. I was so worried. I called for papa and mama to come and check on you." Fleur said to her.


    Riley blinked when as she listened but became momentarily confused when she heard the word sword. Her eyes drifted down to her other arm where she saw it. A katana, gripped in her hand. She groaned as she tried releasing the blade. Her hand felt like a vice. Opening her fingers was painful, the iron grip she had on the blade for who knows how long had caused her hand to feel like it had locked up.


    Moving it hurt, and made Riley wince and grumble as she shifted the blade to the side, taking note that it was unfamiliar to her, and yet felt remarkably familiar at the same time, much to her growing confusion.


    "Sorry. I didn''t mean to worry you. I''m not even sure how I got here." Riley responded to Fleur, filling the growing silence with her curiosity, her eyes still on the strangely familiar blade the had with her.


    "Made your way here on your own you troublesome little twerp." She heard Kurama speak up from within her.


    "Kurama?" Riley blinked.


    "Yeah, it''s me." The Fox responded. "You don''t remember anything that happened after your heart was destroyed?"


    "No, not really. I¡­ well¡­ I feel like something happened¡­ I just¡­ I don''t know what it is¡­ I feels like something important happened while I was asleep, but I can''t remember what it was. So what did happen?" Riley inquired in response, as she rubbed at her temple, feeling frustrated at the mental block, whatever she was missing felt like it was on the edge of recollection but simply wouldn''t come.


    "You lost consciousness. I thought you were a goner, but it seems your additional passenger had other ideas. We were able to heal you, and you woke back up. My power flowed into you, fueling a sort of blind rage. You pulled that sword out of your chest, reawakened your Rinnegan and killed most of those goons that were there. You ran amok for a bit before your rage faded. Then you ran all the way back here, climbed in through Fleur''s window, ogled her for about a half hour and then passed out on her bed." Kurama said to her.


    "I¡­ wait what?" Riley blinked at that, her cheeks tinging red.


    "You stood over her just staring at her for a bit, I couldn''t quite get a read on what you were feeling you then curled up on the end of the bed and passed out."


    Riley sat in silence for several long moments as she digested that.


    "How am I alive Kurama? You said you healed me?" Riley asked him.


    "I played a part. The other demon did most of the work. Look, finish with your friends, and then go somewhere where we can talk because this is gonna take a moment. Also, best apologize to your granddad for scaring the crap out of him. Best he hears all of this too, and I don''t need him pouting." Kurama said to her, causing her to wince.


    Grandfather?" She inquired softly, but got no response, causing her to wince again.


    "I''m sorry for scaring you. I''ll be more careful in the future, I promise." She offered, hoping he''d say something to her. She couldn''t imagine how much he''d been worrying about her, she just hoped he''d forgive her.


    "Riley, never do something like that again." She heard him finally say, knowing that he was referring to her almost dying, not that she could really control that. Still, she understood him well enough to know what he meant. She felt awful at having made him worry.


    "Okay." She offered, almost able to physically see the frown that would have likely resided on his face, despite the fact that she didn''t actually know what he looked like.


    "Riley?" Fleur inquired, Riley having been overly quiet for the last few moments.


    "Sorry, I was just trying to remember what happened, but it''s all coming up blank." Riley said to her, turning her gaze to Fleur. She offered the girl a smile, which again caused Fleur to blush and avert her gaze before returning it.


    "Are you sure you''re all right?" Fleur asked her.


    "I feel fine. If Mr Delacour''s diagnostic spell didn''t turn up anything, then I''d say I''m good. I''ll take it easy the next couple of days though, just to be safe." Riley responded. "I''d also like to help cleaning this all up. I certainly left a mess in here."


    Though they remained worried about her, the Delacours had no reason to keep her from leaving. They accepted her help in cleaning up, if only to have her around a bit longer to keep an eye on her and make sure she was alright.


    Riley helped them clean Fleur''s room from the mud and dried blood she''d dragged in when she showed up. Once everything was clean she bid them farewell, intent on returning home, since she was sure Remus was starting to worry. Before she left, Fleur gave her a particularly long hug, which Riley enjoyed. It was rare for her to initiate such long bouts of contact between them, but those moments were starting to send Riley''s heart aflutter.


    She''d always felt a pull towards the Veela, the same kind of pull she felt towards Kaede. She liked them, and a part of her was perhaps starting to wonder if that like might go deeper than she understood.


    Seeing how concerned and worried the Delacours were for her, was incredibly touching. Riley had never really felt the kind of care. Having it, made her feel good, though she did regret causing them to worry.


    Once she had finished helping them clean she bid her farewells and returned to Paris. She met up with Remus who was starting to wonder when she would return. She hid what had happened from him, knowing that it would only make him more worried if he knew what had kept her away all night. Once she was alone in her room, laying on her own bed, she turned her focus towards Kurama, eager to finally learn what had really gone on.


    "So you ready to fill me in?" Riley inquired to the demon fox.


    "Well first and foremost, you were a heartbeat away from dying, no pun intended. Your other demonic passenger awoke, offering a means of saving you. It said we had one of three paths to take, and he left the decision in my hands. Either I helped to heal you, it would heal you, or we let you die and see what happens." Kurama began.


    "Ummm¡­. Okay I''m guessing I need more context." Riley noted, confused.


    "It claimed it could heal you, but in doing so, you''d be mentally broken. I don''t know how or why, but it was quite certain that if it was allowed to heal you, you''d suffer major mental trauma and end up completely shattered. What happened then is anyone''s guess." Kurama explained to her.


    "Right¡­ and leaving me to die was an option?" Riley noted.


    "It was. According to it, when you were struck with the killing curse as a child, you died then, but due to the Rinnegan and being a higher being because of it, you didn''t actually die. This caused you to straddle the line between life and death all these years. Because of the state you were in, the process of Hallowification was allowed to occur but never reach it''s conclusion, and before you ask, a Hallow is a type of demon or corrupted spirit that feeds on living souls. They are the most common type of demon that living people have the opportunity or misfortune to ecounter, and you were well on your way to becoming one, due to the neglect and suffering you experienced all your life. Had we let you die, the process probably would have completed very quickly, causing you to turn into a Hallow immediately. Most of the time this process can take months or even years before a dead soul becomes corrupt enough to transform into a Hallow, but in your case, it would have occurred quickly. A Hallow with the power of the Rinnegan, that would be a terrifying thing to imagine, especially because I would likely remain sealed within you, and you''d begin feeding on my soul through my chakra that seeps out of this cage, and I''d be powerless to stop you from doing it. All my suspicion, I have no clue if I''m right or not, but needless to say, it wasn''t a choice that involved losing you. None of these choices were to let you truly die, but rather what state you would survive in. If the other demon healed you, it would break you mentally. If we let you die, you''d become a Hallow, so that left only one option." Kurama continued to explain, Madara listening alongside Riley as everything was laid out.


    "So you were the one to heal her, Fox." Madara spoke.


    "I played a part." Kurama offered in agreement.


    "How so?" Riley inquired, as she contemplated the information she''d just learned.


    "I gave you a piece of my heart." Kurama said to her, causing her to blink in surprise in the real world.


    "You gave me a piece of your heart?" Riley asked him, touching at the scarred flesh in the center of her chest, remembering vividly the pain she''d felt as her heart was blown out of her body.


    "Yeah. The other demon took a piece of my heart, and molded it into a new human heart for you. This was both a physical and spiritual process as it required melding your own magical pathways to integrate with this demonic organ." Kurama carried on explaining.


    "Wow¡­ I don''t know what to say. Thank you Kurama." She expressed in gratitude.


    "Don''t go thanking me just yet. You still need to understand the cost. Doing this did save your life, but things are different now. You are different. You have a demonic heart, the heart is where the soul is housed, and where the magical core resides. By replacing your heart with a demonic one, it will begin to corrupt you. Specifically you''ll begin to transform into a Tailed Beast like myself. Because of the way we were made, each of the Tailed Beasts is highly specific. That means that you''ll become another Nine Tails, like me." Kurama expressed.


    "I''ll turn into a Tailed Beast? So one day I''ll just transform into a giant fox demon?" Riley questioned.


    "Well yes, but not in the way you imagine it. Firstly, the process will be much slower. Due to the Rinnegan your spirit is highly resilient to corruption so it''ll take a bit to fully transform. Probably five to ten years at least. Once that happens, yes you''ll turn into a fox, or at least try to. I can teach you how to control demonic energy so you can control your own transformation. We Tailed Beasts can change our shape if we wish, we could even assume human form if we so desired, but given how little we think of humans and how much pride we take in the form the Sage gave us, we rarely do it. So you wont have to live as a giant fox. The only limit on our transformations is that we have to have our tails. So you''ll have nine tails no matter what form you''re in. Secondly, I have no idea how you''ll compare to me in terms of power. This has never been done with Tailed Beasts before. Demons don''t typically have real organs and if they do, they don''t generally share them with humans or other living beings. I know enough that there''s a strong likelihood that you''ll begin rapidly growing in strength as you become a near mirror image of me. Meaning you''ll likely end up as strong as I am, or at least with as much chakra as I have. This is merely my speculation though, as I said, I don''t actually know for certain, given that I''m not an ordinary demon. I''d give it between five and ten years before the transformation completes itself. When it does, not only will you be immortal, but you''ll also be nearly unbeatable. As a Tailed Beast, even if you are killed, you''ll eventually revive. You''ll have access to the full breath of demonic powers that all Tailed Beasts have, and you''ll likely also have access to my specific powers as well. We''ll have a lot of work until the day comes to make sure you''re ready. It wont be easy, but this was the only path where you had a chance to remain who you are, while still surviving." Kurama laid everything out for her, making sure she understood that things certainly were different now.


    "Remain who I am?" She repeated thoughtfully.


    "It''s why I chose this path. If left to become a Hallow you''d be consumed by your own desire for souls, becoming a ruthless killing machine. If the unknown demon healed you, your mind would break, meaning you''d lose who you are now. This way, if nothing else, there''s a chance you might remain who you are. You''ll likely be able to retain your personality, your wants, and desires. Demons in general are largely linked to negative emotions but that''s usually because they only have negative emotions. We Tailed Beasts were gifted the full breath of emotions by the Sage, and you''ll have them too, meaning all of your emotions will be empowered, but you''ll ultimately still be able to remain who you are. It was the only path available that left you a chance of still being Riley, of being able to pursue your goals and dreams. Kaede is proof enough for you that half-demons exist and can be more or less human, so you can still restore the Uzumaki clan and make a name for yourself, all of that is still within your power to accomplish. This is a gift as much as a curse, so it''ll be how you use it, and live with it, that determines the ultimate outcome." Kurama explained to her.


    Riley was silent for many long moments as she took that in, digesting what had been done to ultimately save her life. Kurama had made the best choice he could to try and save who she was as a person. He even gave a piece of himself to allow it to happen. She found herself deeply moved as she realized this and even more so recognized what he''d sacrificed to save her life.


    "Thank you Kurama. For saving me, and giving me a second chance. I''m really grateful." Riley offered to him, her gratitude surprising the ancient demon.


    "Eh, don''t worry about it. I just made the most logical choice." Kurama attempted to dismiss her.


    "But if I''d died, you could have escaped. Whether you died with me, or not, you still would have been free from this seal." Riley countered.


    "Maybe, then again I''ve barely begun healing thanks to that other demon and I doubt it would have continued repairing my magical core if I weren''t with you anymore, so it really was in my best interest to keep you alive." Kurama noted, though in truth, he hadn''t actually considered his own escape in the moment. In hindsight he probably wouldn''t have been able to escape, or if he did he''d be practically powerless, but again, it wasn''t something he considered.


    "Still, I''m really grateful. I promise, I''ll find a way to repay you. I owe you one Kurama." Riley promised to him. Kurama took a moment to digest her gratitude, finding himself feeling a bit off in regards to receiving such gratitude from a mortal. He wasn''t used to it, so again, he was driven to dismiss it.


    "Well just keep that in mind the next time you wanna take on such a powerful foe. I don''t give out freebies so be mindful, you don''t wanna end up in debt to a demon." Kurama warned her.


    "Yes sir. Speaking of which, what was with that guys strange barrier?" Riley inquired to them, remembering how she was unable to access Kamui while within it''s confines.


    "I''m not quite sure it was a barrier if I''m being honest. It didn''t function much like a barrier and his deployment of it was unlike any barrier I''ve ever seen. It was likely something else, some new form of magic that we haven''t encountered before." Madara suggested, having had plenty of time to go over everything she''d seen in the fight.


    "Madara is likely correct. It wasn''t something I''m familiar with either. Likely some kind of magecraft." Kurama agreed with Madara, much to his chagrin.


    "Magecraft huh? I''m gonna need to prepare myself for that kind of power if I run into that guy again." Riley spoke aloud, her eyes glued onto the ceiling. She subconsciously rubbed at her chest, taking stock of her new demonic heart and how it hammered in her chest.


    "The cost for failure. Well at least I''m not dead. Maybe this wont be so bad, hell maybe it was meant to be. Kurama says that those with the Rinnegan are meant for greatness. One day I''ll be a demon, a Tailed Beast like Kurama. Maybe it what I was meant to be. A Tailed Beast with the power of the Rinnegan, I don''t think that''s ever been a thing before." Riley thought to herself.


    "It''s certainly a volatile concoction, we''ll have to be careful. You''ll find a way to overcome this, I have no doubt in my mind." Madara stated.


    "Thanks for the vote of confidence Grandfather." Riley offered to him.


    "Not really meant as praise. You simply have no other option but to succeed. If you fail then you''ll be reduced to a living natural disaster, who spends most of it''s time sleeping like the Fox. Not really the lifestyle of the ambitious." Madara noted, recalling how she had wiped out that entire town with the powers of the Rinnegan. He wondered for a brief moment is now would be a good time to mention it. After a moment he decided against it. They''d tell her eventually. She needed to know what she''d done, but for now she had enough on her mind.


    "I heard that, jackass." Kurama growled, responding to Madara''s statement, drawing the old man''s attention to the Fox, the two beginning to trade jabs.


    As the two began arguing Riley let out a sigh, just happy to be alive. She closed her eyes, and in her mind''s eye she could see the face of the man who''d killed her. She felt her muscles tighten, a snarl spreading across her face, without realizing it, she felt her fingers curl around something, only recognizing that she was grasping something when she went to move her arm. Her eyes snapped open and she spotted her hand wrapped around the sword that she now held attached to her belt.


    Her hand had almost been instinctively drawn to it as a sort of defense response.


    She pulled the blade free and examined it, taking in it''s appearance, the weight of it, it''s familiarity to her. She''d pulled this blade out of her own chest. Why that was, or what it could possibly mean, she had no clue. A sigh escaped her lips, as she lowered the blade to her side and stared at the ceiling.


    Her life had changed irreparably, and she was now forced to find a way to deal with it. And so she would. She had no choice other than to keep pushing forward. Starting tomorrow, she''d need to up her training and begin preparing for the day she met that man again. Friedrich Yurik, the best she''d fought so far. One day she''d run into him again, and she''d need to be prepared to counter his magecraft, and stronger than him would one day appear before her. She''d need to become much stronger, and less reliant of Kamui if she wanted to defeat them. Kamui was powerful, but this battle made it perfectly clear to her that relying on it could be detrimental to her, so she''d need to work on that. Work on her skills and prepare for the changes that were coming.


    Demonhood awaited her, the birth of a new Nine Tails. Yeah, there was a lot of work to do.


    -To Be Continued-

 Hogwarts

    Riley and Remus both stopped to look around as they arrived at their destination. They had portkeyed to Britain, and Remus had Riley side Apparate with him, to the Leaky Cauldron.


    "Remus... it''s been forever." The man behind the bar stated as the two entered.


    "It''s good to see you again Tom. Riley this is Tom, he owns the Leaky Cauldron here." Remus introduced the two.


    "Nice to meet ya lass. Is there anything I can get you Remus?" Tom asked.


    "A room. If you''ve got one. We''ve got business at Gringotts and this one has to get her supplies for Hogwarts." Remus replied.


    "Ah... off to Hogwarts are ya? I wish you the best of luck." Tom stated as he fished out a key and handed it to Remus.


    "Thank you." Riley replied with a smile.


    "Alright. Let''s go deal with the goblins first, then we''ll go shopping." Remus told her as they headed out to Diagon Alley.


    Riley was so excited. She took in the Alley and all its splendor. It was jam packed with people, and activity. Riley wasn''t a stranger to crowded cities but she enjoyed the hustle and bustle of people, and the wondrous magical world around her, never failed to mystify and enthrall her with it''s wonder.


    They made their way to Gringotts. Upon entering Riley immediately took notice of the fact that out of all the Gringotts she''d ever been in, the goblins in this one looked the snottiest. Each one wore an unpleasant look on their face, and most stared at her with complete disinterest. Riley has seen such looks before and was smart enough to know what they meant. ''These goblins deal with shit on a daily basis''.


    "Hello." Remus greeted one of the tellers.


    "What can I help you with?" The goblin asked in a bored tone.


    "We''re here to open access to this one''s accounts. She has holdings in France, but she''ll be starting up her schooling at Hogwarts for the coming year." Remus explained.


    "I see, and who might you be miss?" The Goblin turned his attention to Riley.


    "My name is Riley. Riley Uzumaki-Uchiha. My account manager is Wrask, I''ve already informed him of my intentions to open access here in England, he should have sent over paperwork already." Riley told the goblin.


    "Yes, I do recall hearing something about that. One moment." Goblin spoke, turning to hop from his desk to go and search through some stacks of paper nearby. He returned a few moments later. "Yes, alright. We''ve received instruction from your account manager, and have already begun setting up access to your vaults here at our establishment. We just need your final authorization, and to provide you with your key. Each key will only access your vault from the specific Gringotts that it is tied to, so don''t get them mixed up, or lose them." The bank teller informed her.


    "Understood." Riley nodded.


    "For accounts as large as yours, you''ll be assigned an account manager to oversee any business regarding your funds here in Britain. Here is you key, was there anything else we can help you with today?" The teller inquired.


    "Yes, I''d like to make a withdrawal. I need some money to buy my school supplies." Riley asked, earning a nod from the goblin she was able to withdraw her funds. With money in hand the two headed out to buy her supplies.


    Throughout the morning the two made their way through Diagon Alley, travelling from store to store, buying the things Riley would need for her first year at Hogwarts. Robes, and books, a trunk, potions supplies, on and on they went Riley barely containing her excitement to finally be going to Hogwarts. The chance to learn magic at one of the oldest magical institutes in the world, to finally have a chance to be normal for a bit, and make more friends her own age. Her adored Fleur and Gabrielle, and was eager to make more friends.


    Eventually the two arrived at Ollivander''s store so Riley could get her wand. Remus chose to remain outside, unwilling to face the old wand-maker who never failed to give him the creeps.


    The old man was hidden behind the door and greeted her upon entry.


    "Greetings child, come for a wand, have you?" Ollivander asked as he swooped by her.


    "Yes sir I have." Riley offered with a nod.


    Ollivander smiled, and began measuring her up, determining the best kind of wand for her. Once done, he began passing wands for her to try. One by one, she tried out these wands. Her control with magic allowed her a certain degree of attunement to each, but it ran the gambit. Some she could use easily others were incredibly finicky, one even burst into flames when she tried to use it.


    "Ah, tricky customer ay?" Ollivander hummed with an amused glint in his eyes.


    "Would it be easier if I just got one custom made?" Riley asked, as the wand she held flew out of her hand, vanishing from sight, disappearing into the ether.


    "Hmm¡­ I think I understand, yes¡­ rare, but it makes sense. Someone with your level of power almost never finds themselves in shops like this. A simple wand would only ever constrain someone like you, no you need something more powerful, a staff would suit you far better." Ollivander spoke, a joyful grin spreading across his face as he lit up with excitement.


    "A staff?" Riley inquired, blinking with curiosity.


    "Magical staffs are rare and powerful tools of magic. Only about one in every ten thousand ever reach the raw power needed to use one. Most of the time, by the time you reach that level of power, you have more than enough control over your power to keep using a wand. That''s why they are so rare. It seems I''ll have to make you a staff. Oh how wonderful!" Ollivander clapped his hands with excitement.


    "Wow, that''s pretty cool. How long will that take to make?" Riley asked him.


    "A day to create it, another to enchant it. As long as I have the right items for it. You''ll need a staff core, so that it can channel your full power, and we''ll place special enchantments on it, so that you can shrink it down and use it like a wand. This will limit it''s power output in this form, but make it simpler to use. With a bit of practice you''ll be able to use it both ways. It will be a bit more expensive though, but well worth it, I assure you." Ollivander explained to her.


    "Awesome!" Riley replied cheerfully.


    "Alright, we will need a proper wood, as well as a suitable core. Please follow me, we will see which you are most attuned with." Ollivander instructed her.


    Riley did as instructed, being led in back to a workshop where dozens of different samples of wood were kept. She was instructed to close her eyes and stretch out her hand and pass it over these sample, and pick the one that seemed ''right''.


    She did as instructed, ending up with a darker block of wood. She was then led over to the cores, and instructed to do the same, finding another that seemed to call out to her.


    "Ah¡­ Blackthorn and Dragon Heartstring. Yes, a mighty combination. Blackthorn wood tends to lend itself to warriors, and is strongest in the heat of battle, though it''s loyalty must be won through hardship and conflict. Dragon Heartstring is best for channeling power, it handles raw magic better than most cores. A staff formed of this combination will be more of a weapon than a tool, I sense that it will suit you well, miss." Ollivander explained to her, causing Riley to give a small nod of acceptance to his assessment.


    "Now¡­ there is one more thing that is needed for your staff. A focus." Ollivander said to her.


    "A focus? What does that do?" Riley asked him.


    "A focus is needed as a focal point within the staff that magic channels through. It needs to be something magically powerful, though also something you have a strong connection to. A ritual will fuse it to the staff, rendering the two objects, one." Ollivander explained.


    "Hmm¡­ you know, I think I know something that might do the trick." Madara spoke up. Riley offered a small nod as his suggestion, her own mind briefly turning to the very same object, but was she willing to do that? To use Shisui''s eye as the focus to her staff?


    "Once it''s bonded to the staff, can a focus ever be removed?" Riley inquired.


    "No. The object can never be returned to it''s original state. Breaking it from the staff, would be the same as breaking off any other part of the staff itself. The power rests in the whole, not in a piece of it." Ollivander explained to her.


    "Would an eye suffice?" She asked him.


    "It would have to be a powerful magical eye, but yes, eyes have been used in the past." Ollivander answered with a gleam in his eye.


    "If I do this, at least no one will ever be able to use Shisui''s eye for their own gains. And at least this way, we can go on adventures together, I think he''d like that." Riley thought to herself, a sad smile crossing her face. After a few long moments, she made her decision, and summoned the crow from it''s scroll. The bird circled the store and landed on a nearby table.


    "Would that work?" She asked.


    Ollivander approached the crow and met it''s gaze, his eyes falling onto the Sharingan as it stared back at him. He didn''t know what it truly was, but he could tell powerful magics lay within.


    "Yes, this eye will certainly be powerful enough for your staff." Ollivander nodded, drawing his wand, he stunned the crow, and then turned to her with a smile. "I will have your staff made for you in two days time. That''ll be three hundred galleons."


    "Okay. You take good care of that eye old man, if anything should happen to it, you''re the first one I''m coming after." She warned protectively as she provided him with his money.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll treat it with great care. Only the best, at Ollivanders!" The old man replied with a grin.


    Riley headed out, meeting up with Remus and discreetly leaving a Shadow Clone to keep an eye on the store and make sure Ollivander didn''t try anything nefarious with Shisui''s eye.


    She told Remus about the staff, which earned a lighthearted chuckle from the man, as he expected nothing less from her.


    They returned to their rooms at the Leaky Cauldron finding a letter having already arrived there from Fleur.


    Riley found herself grinning as she read the letter from her her friend, a gentle blush tinging at her cheeks as she recalled their farewell.


    After gaining her citizenship in Britain, Riley spent the months leading up to the start of her schooling in growing anticipation. She spent a lot of time talking with Remus about his years at Hogwarts and what she should expect, while also talking with Fleur and even Mr. and Mrs. Delacour about their years of schooling. Fleur was bummed at seeing her go, as was Gabrielle, but they promised to write one another.


    Before departing for England, Riley could distinctly remember sharing hugs with them, and receiving an especially long one from Fleur, who reminded her to write. The two separated from their embrace, Riley offering her a beaming smile.


    It was in that moment that Fleur chose to kiss her. It was a light quick peck on the lips, that sent both girls blushing up a storm, but Riley hadn''t been able to keep it off her mind, when she wasn''t thinking about school. Every free moment she had, she remembered that kiss, and it brought a smile to her face.


    Even now, a few days later, she couldn''t help but smile and feel butterflies in her stomach at the thought of that kiss. She began to understand, no she knew, that she liked Fleur. Liked her as more than a friend, and it was obvious that Fleur liked her back. Reading the first letter she''d sent since that day, it was clear that Fleur wanted to start something.


    ''Dear Riley. I want to apologize. For all the time we have known each other, I have been keeping something from you. Since that day, when you saved my life, and the lives of my family, I have looked at you and seen everything I have ever wanted. I have adored you from the moment we first met. I have come to love you, I cannot help but think of you in quiet moments. I wish so much that I could have told you these things, but I was afraid. Scared of what you might think, that my hopes and dreams would lead nowhere and I would lose this special friendship that we share that I hold so dear. I am sorry for keeping this from you, for hiding how I really felt. Every time you smile, I cannot help but feel joy. Every time we touch, my heart starts to pound in my chest, and I get so nervous. The sorrow I felt at your every departure and the joy of your every return, I know what these feelings mean, though I dare not express them in any way other than to you, when next we meet. I wish you all the best when you arrive at Hogwarts, and I await the day I see you again. I eagerly anticipate your letters, with all love and affection, Fleur.''


    Riley read the letter half a dozen times, grinning to herself. It was after the final read through when she noticed Remus staring at her with a knowing smirk.


    "What?" She questioned, sensing that she already knew the answer.


    "Nothing." He replied with a light chuckle, causing Riley to blush.


    That day, was the happiest Riley had been in months. She remained positively beaming, all the way up until she went to sleep that night. Unfortunately, that''s when the nightmares came.


    Pain wracked her body, blood flowing around her. Animalistic shrieking and screams deafened her ears as flesh was torn around her. The nightmare closed, as it always did, with the image of an empty crater, where once and innocent little town once stood. Riley awoke in a cold sweat, as she often did. Angry tears stung her face, and she smacked the side of her head a few times to try and dislodge the nightmare, and the anger she felt.


    It had been months since that day, but eventually she would hear about the entire town that had been destroyed in eastern Europe. Everyone talked about it. No explanation could be given. A meteor impact, a nuclear bomb, no one could explain where the crater had come from, or why the town had been attacked. Those within the magical community quickly began to suspect that magic had been involved and that stirred up some major animosity in magical communities out in eastern Europe, with their muggle governments beginning to question and blame them, as science couldn''t explain what had happened.


    Riley recognized the town, the moment she heard it''s name, and Madara and Kurama were forced to reveal exactly what she had done.


    Riley had been devastated to hear the truth. To learn that she had killed tens of thousands of innocent people. All because she lost control, all because she picked a fight she wasn''t ready for, and was forced to call upon powers she wasn''t ready for. Thousands were dead because of her. Men, women, children. Innocent or guilty, good or bad, healthy or sick, it didn''t matter. All of them died when she called upon the might of the Rinnegan to wash away all around her.


    She felt sickened, despondent, angry at herself.


    It left her in a dark depression for several days as she cursed herself for hurting that many people. Madara was eventually able to pull her out of it, telling her of the times he''d made mistakes, killed innocent people, or people who''d done nothing to deserve their fates. It was the way of things, of the life they lived. Innocent people were going to get hurt. Beating herself up over it, or throwing herself onto her sword, wasn''t going to restore them to life, or avenge those that had died.


    Riley asked him if it was possible to atone, to make up for her crimes, for the bad she''d caused. He told her it wasn''t something she could do. Whether she forgave herself or not, whether she worked towards absolution and redemption, it ultimately didn''t matter. Those people, bonded to those who had died, would all carry their own judgment. Some may forgive her, others would hate her, no matter what she did. She had a choice to make. To either move on, and never let this happen again. To recognize what had happen as a consequence of her failure, and strive to prevent it. Or she could drown herself in it, and forget everything she dreamed of, everything she hoped for. In this world, there was no such thing as redemption. Everything was simply a point of view. Cause and effect, ruled the nature of the world. She could learn from this, be a better person, and strive to build something better, improve the lives of others by her actions, and find forgiveness in herself, or she could not. She could throw herself at the mercy of the victims, of the survivors, and suffer for it.


    He told her that no matter what she did, people would still hate her, so all it boiled down to was what she could live with.


    She asked him about justice, and he told her that the judgment against her would be fierce and unyielding. As damning as it would be for any Jinchuriki. She had no control over her actions, she didn''t choose to attack those people. The best thing she could do, the best act of justice she could give to those who''d died, is to tame that darkness, and control it, never allowing it out of her control again. If she owed those people anything, it was that. She didn''t ask for these powers, to be in this position. She didn''t ask for any of it.


    His pep talk didn''t make her feel better, but it did give her more perspective, and helped her carry on. Since that day, she hadn''t gone on any more hunts. Instead every day was devoted to training. Her need to be better, became solidified in her mind. She would never allow herself to fall into that darkness again. She couldn''t.


    It was Kurama who pointed out that her future lay in darkness, she would become a demon one day. A Tailed Beast, practically destruction incarnate. What that meant to her, was entirely hers to decide, but he stressed to her that this wouldn''t be the last time innocent people lost their lives due to her. No matter how good her control became, humans were fragile creatures, and people would die. She had to learn to live with it. She didn''t need to be a monster, but she had to learn to accept the fragility of life, until the day came she mastered the powers of the Rinnegan and gained the power over life and death. Until such a time came and passed, she would have to face the consequences of the limits of a human life and what it could withstand.


    Kurama''s points resonated with her, at least a bit, and she accepted his wisdom as well, and took to focusing on her control. Until the day came when she had mastered the powers of the Rinnegan, she would have to be careful with what she did. Only with such power could she truly reverse death, until she had it, their was a price to be paid, each time she went to far.


    Mastery of her powers. It became part of the reason for her desires to begin Hogwarts. To gain access to the ancient castle and begin learning from various masters better and better ways to control magic. She would never allow herself to fall into that abyss again. To let that darkness take hold and run amok. She simply refused to allow it. She couldn''t live with herself if she let herself lose control again.


    And so, since then, she drilled herself into the ground, learning all she could to try and hone her control. For a long time, good to great was a happy place to be for Riley when it came to her control over her magic, but now, she strove for perfection, taking whatever lessons she could learn from Madara and pouring over old Uzumaki scrolls for information on control exercises, setting aside learning new abilities in favor of honing her focus.


    The only other thing she worked on, besides her control exercises was practicing with her new sword.


    The blade was the biggest mystery to her. Kurama and Madara had no idea where it had come from or how she had removed it from her body. The blade was powerful. Just looking at it with her Sharingan revealed torrents of raw magic locked within the blade itself. She felt a connection to the sword, almost like it was a part of herself, which made sense considering how she''d gotten it. Still though¡­ she was starting to become convinced that it was her other passenger that had summoned the sword to her, that other demon. It was the only thing that clicked. If it wasn''t responsible than she was literally left with nothing.


    Pulling swords out of your chest, was not a power or ability known to either of her family lines. The blade felt good in her hands, despite being a bit too long for her at her current size. It was long, for a katana, though it still felt good to wield. She trained with the blade often, working through movements, practicing with it, whenever she could. It was odd, the nature of her connection to the sword. She felt naked when she wasn''t carrying it. Like she''d set aside a part of herself. It got to the point where when she wasn''t wearing it on her belt, she had it sealed into a storage seal on the inside of her wrist.


    Months would pass until the arrival of her Hogwarts letter, which broke her out of the laser-guided focus and filled her with excitement for something new.


    Now she was set to add a new weapon to her arsenal, a tool she would likely carry for the rest of her life.


    After the two days had passed, she and Remus made their way to Ollivander''s, arriving to find the old man waiting expectantly for them.


    "Ah... young Riley, I see you have returned. Your Staff is finished." Ollivander told her, the man had a look of absolute pride on his face as he lifted a staff up from behind the counter.


    The staff measured five feet in length, fitting her height perfectly. It was dark in color. Starting from the bottom, the staff had a pointed and thinned-out end, resembling a large wand. It was straight until just over a third of the way up, where the wood began to twist, appearing as if two pieces of wood were intertwined. This twisting was slight and subtle at first but became more pronounced halfway up. Here, a rounded section resembling a grip could be seen, after which the twist continued until about a fourth of the way to the top, where it split into two pieces of wood with a small gap between them. These pieces continued upward until they met the body of a crow, smaller than the one she had left him The bird had its wings outsretched beside itself and its head pointed upwards as if cawing at the sky. In beak, set like a gem, was Shisui''s Sharingan.


    The eye moved, spinning about as if scanning the room, stopping for moments to lock onto objects of interest before resuming it''s scan.


    "Wow¡­ that is quite the sight." Remus commented.


    "Indeed. This staff holds much power. I placed a sizing charm on it, so it will grow as you do." Ollivander stated as Riley approached. He handed her the staff, which she took will a long look. The second she touched it, the eye whirled to meet with hers. She could tell that something had been done to the eye, it looked almost like it was made of glass now. She could see recognition reflected in it''s gaze as it stared at her, and she almost felt herself smile.


    Much like with her sword, she felt a connection to the staff, though it was far more resilient. As Ollivander had said, due to the nature of the wood used, this staff would grow more loyal and connected to her, the more she used it to overcome trials and tasks. Their bond would grow through conflict, which Riley knew she''d face often in the years to come. She was more than happy to have the challenge, and accepted it with determination.


    "You''ll need to inform your teachers when you arrive of your need for special instructions, as staff movements for spell activation can vary greatly to wand movements. Due to it''s nature, just know you can use a shrinking charm and hold it in reverse fashion to act just like a wand, but using it like that will remove the focus from the magical circuit, reducing it''s overall power. I wouldn''t recommend attempting to use it in a shrunken form the right-way round, as the charm may conflict with the power of the focus, disrupting the spell or causing it to back-fire." Ollivander informed her.


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    "I love it! Thanks Mr. Ollivander." Riley replied with a grin.


    "You are most welcome. Take good care of it, and it will take good care of you. We expect great things from you miss Uzumaki-Uchiha. Many great things. Do enjoy your time at Hogwarts wont you, to few chances in life to truly be young, best to enjoy it while you can." Ollivander said to her, earning a nod from Riley.


    After departing, the two tracked down some books about staff use, and then got something to eat, once done they returned home, where Riley quickly dove into her books.


    Remus showed her a thing or two specifically the shrinking charm, so she could actually begin using the staff in wand form.


    A few days passed, and it was finally time for her to travel to Hogwarts. Aside from practicing with her staff, Madara had her take time to learn some things about the politics of Britain as well as the influential families therein. Some of them might have children her age, and befriending them, or at least forming alliances with them would open doorways for her in the future. If she wished to restore the Uzumaki clan to it''s former greatness, than she''d need allies.


    Riley intended to do so, but she was also adamant about keeping her true nature a secret for as long as she could. She wasn''t ignorant of the fact that going to school in Hogwarts, also meant there was a line leading back to Konoha. Dumbledore was friends with Minato, and had been to the Hidden Leaf on a few occasions, hell it was because of Dumbledore''s friendship with the Leaf, that Britain had an alliance with the Land of Fire. Riley didn''t know how often they communicated, but she was cautious about revealing her skills as a shinobi. As far as anyone needed to know, she was a foreigner, of Asian and European descent. She spoke English fluently, as she had learned from Lily when she was younger, though it had been more colored by a French accent in recent years. Most would assume she was from France, given the subtlety of it''s influence on her English, though honestly it was a mishmash, due to spending most of her early life speaking Japanese.


    Her appearance had matured greatly as well but made it difficult to pin down where she was from off of appearances alone. Her dark red hair had grown darker over the years, and now stretched all the down to the middle of her back. She kept her bangs similarly long, framing her face and somewhat covering one eye. A patch of ghostly white colored the front right of her hair where some curse had struck her during her rampage. She didn''t know what it was, Kurama assumed it was the Killing Curse, but he wasn''t entirely sure either. It had struck her there and permanently bleached the hair and scalp white. It gave her a distinction that stood out for anyone to notice, especially due to how dark the rest of her hair was, the stark white, stood out. It almost looked as if she''d been stricken by vitiligo due to the curse.


    Beyond that, she was a bit tall for her age, a developing well. Her build was athletic with noticeable muscles, but those were easily hidden with long sleeves and robes.


    It would require a bit of work, but she intended to keep it a secret for as long as possible. The longer it took for people to know what she was, the longer it would take Dumbledore to piece together who she was. To make doubly sure, she had taken to wearing glasses as part of her disguise, namely they were charmed glasses that changed her eye color, making her eyes appear brown, instead of their typical black. Just enough of a difference here and there to be similar, but not exact, nothing so startling as to be noticeable. Brown eyes instead of black was an easy sell even if someone caught her without her glasses, she just had to squint a bit, and no one would really notice the difference.


    She knew she''d be caught eventually, she just hoped she could keep her true nature a secret for at least a few years so she could build up a power base here in Britain, and earn some good will from these people, so they wouldn''t be so quick to sell her out to Konoha. Earning enough accolades for her clan to be welcomed into the ruling class of magical Britain was the first major step that she had to work towards, and that meant she had to wow her fellows.


    The two arrived at the train station with Remus ready to see Riley off.


    "Looks like this is where we part ways. Try your best, and try to have fun. You deserve the chance to actually be a kid for a while." Remus said to her.


    "I will. How do I look?" Riley asked him.


    "Sophisticated." Remus responded with a smile, earning one from Riley in return.


    "Thanks Remus." She offered him a hug which he returned warmly.


    "I''ll see you for the holidays. Be sure to write, I expect to hear good things with your grades as well." Remus said to her.


    "You will. Top of my class, that''s where I''ll be." Riley promised him as the two separated.


    "Have fun." He gave as a final farewell as she turned and headed into the train.


    She found an empty compartment and settled in, taking out a book to begin reading ahead in some of her school books. Her education in magic was a bit scattershot. She had copied dozens and dozens of different spells with her Sharingan from the magicals she''d hunted over the years, and now that she had her staff, she could actually use them. There was also the things that Remus had showed her, or taught to her, so she was actually much further ahead in her repertoire of abilities than pretty much any other student, but she lacked a lot of the finer details, and hadn''t yet learned to perform a lot of these abilities on her own.


    She was reading for several long minutes when the door opened and a blonde-haired boy stepped in.


    "Oh, I didn''t think anyone was in here." The boy stated. Riley barely glanced up from her book to acknowledge him.


    "Greetings." She muttered, still engrossed in a part of her book.


    The boy gave her a curious look, taking note of her accent, and of her appearance. She didn''t look like she was a local.


    "Hello. My name''s Draco Malfoy." The boy stated proudly as he stuck his hand out. Riley closed her book and glanced up at him. He had bright blonde hair and a refined air about him. She could tell immediately that he was high born, and that name ''Malfoy'', it was the name of one of the old families that held standing in Britain.


    Smiling, she stood and shook his hand.


    "Riley, Riley Uzumaki. Nice to meet you." Riley greeted, the boy giving her a curious look.


    "Uzumaki, I must say I''m not familiar with that name. Do you come from a magical line?" The boy inquired as they finished shaking hands.


    "Yeah. Both sides of my parentage are ancient magical families. We originally came from Asia." Riley said to him as she took her seat once again.


    "Asia? Wow. What brings you to Hogwarts?" He asked, curiously. Sitting across from her.


    "I heard it was one of the oldest magical institutes in the world, as well as one of the best. I only moved here recently, lived in France for a few years before coming here." Riley said to him.


    "Really, my family is originally from France. The Malfoy''s came here a long time ago." Draco noted.


    "Hmm¡­ Normandy right, around a thousand years ago, if I''m not mistaken." Riley recalled, causing Draco''s mouth to drop open in surprise but he quickly nodded in confirmation.


    "Yeah, that''s right. How did you know that?" He asked, curiously.


    "I did my research. If I''m going to be living here, and settling in Britain, it''s best to know who runs the show. The Malfoy''s hold a seat on the Wizengamot, they''re an Ancient and Noble House." Riley explained, again earning a nod from Draco.


    "Well I''m impressed." Draco hummed.


    The two sat in conversation for a bit, getting to know one another when the door to their cabin opened.


    "Excuse me?" A female voice said. Riley and Draco glanced over to see a bushy haired girl standing at the door with a pudgy boy.


    "This is Neville Longbottom, he''s lost his toad, have you seen it?" The girl asked.


    "No, I haven''t." Draco replied, eyeing the two curiously.


    "Hm... maybe I can help." Riley stated as she pulled out her shrunken staff, and gave it a swoosh,


    "Accio Neville Longbottom''s toad." Riley stated, after a moment a toad floated in from the hallway and landed in Riley''s open hand. She grinned at her success the summoning charm being one of the first she''d actually learned to use with her staff, since the summoning charm has so many benefits and uses, especially to a shinobi.


    "Trevor!" Neville stated happily as he scooped the toad off of her hand.


    "Wow! That was amazing." The girl stated with a look of awe on her face.


    "Huh, it was just the summoning charm. I know it''s a bit advanced, but it''s nothing overly special." Riley shrugged.


    "Still, I doubt you''ll find many first years who know it. That''s a fourth-year spell." Draco commented.


    "Huh¡­ I think I remember Remus saying something about that." She recalled, and again offered a shrug.


    "Which book is that? I''ve already read all of the schoolbooks for first year. I can''t wait to practice magic. I''m sorry, I didn''t get your names." The girl spoke quickly, taking note of the book sat beside Riley. It was obvious she was getting excited to finally be going to Hogwarts.


    "Eh, just our first year charms book. My names Riley, Riley Uzumaki." Riley responded politely.


    "Draco Malfoy." Draco responded.


    "What''s your name, miss?" Riley asked the girl.


    "Oh, I''m Hermione, Hermione Granger." Hermione responded with a proud smile.


    "Granger? Haven''t heard that name before. Do you come from a magical line?" Draco inquired.


    "Actually I''m the first which in my family, my parents are very proud of me." She replied with a smile.


    A look spread across Draco''s face, Riley sensed he was about to say something, so she quickly cut him off by asking, "What house do you hope to be sorted into?"


    "Hmm, I''m not sure. I''ve read about all of them, of course, I think either Slytherin, or Ravenclaw would be my best bet, though Gryffindor would also be alright, I hear that our headmaster, Dumbledore came from there." Hermione replied.


    "I-I think I''d like to end up in Hufflepuff, or Gryffindor¡­ I don''t have the smarts for Ravenclaw, or the cunning of the Slytherins." Neville offered quietly.


    "Don''t doubt yourself Neville. You never know who you''ll grow into. Even the mightiest of trees once began as a small seed." Riley gave in encouragement, getting a small smile from the boy.


    She sensed Madara''s internal smile, recognizing that bit of logic as something that would have been said by Hashirama once upon a time. There were occasions when Riley reminded him a lot of his old friend, and he couldn''t hide his approval of it, such was his admiration for the First Hokage.


    "I''m going to end up in Slytherin house, all of my family has been there. It''s tradition." Draco stated proudly.


    "Yeah, that''s probably where I''m going too." Riley agreed.


    "Huh, well I hope we end up in the same house. Come on Neville, let''s get back to the others. See you all at the castle." Hermione offered, Neville giving them a quiet farewell as the two departed.


    "That girl is a mudblood, I hope you know, and the Longbottoms aren''t exactly the picture of a proper wizarding family anymore, I''d be careful associating with them." Draco warned her, earning a look from Riley.


    "Careful Draco. Judging a book by it''s cover is a good way to shut doors forever. I wouldn''t recommend burning bridges based off of prejudice. Hermione may not come from a magical family, but she obviously has a lot of book smarts. Having intelligent allies is how great men and women succeed in life. She may not have the name to open doors for you, but if she''s smart, who''s to say she can''t use that to help you get to places. We know nothing about her. Don''t judge until you know, why risk burning that bridge to a potential ally. She may just end up being a nobody, or she might end up the Minister of Magic one day. We don''t know. Judge her on who she is, not what she is. If she ends up as a brat, or an annoyance, then feel free to cut her off, but if not, who knows." Riley cautioned him.


    He blinked at her, taking in her words as if that was the first time he''d ever considered such a thing.


    "And as for Longbottom. Fallen his family might be, but mighty it once was. The Longbottoms are not gone. Who knows that they might become one day. Who knows, if you make friends with Neville, you could end up with a powerful ally on the other side of the aisle. I know the Malfoy''s belong to the ''dark'' faction, and the Longbottoms are on the ''light'' side. Nothing says that either of your families belongs in those groups, or that making alliances outside of those factions couldn''t help you in the future. Again, don''t judge based off of preconceptions. Figure out who people are as people. Judge them based off that. If he''s a jerk, or an annoyance, then forget about it, but if not, maybe he could be one of your closest allies and friends. Again, you never know, so what shut that door when there''s no reason not to see what lays on the other side." Riley carried on.


    "So... what should I do? My father hasn''t always spoken very highly of muggles, and mud... I mean muggleborns?" Draco asked after a moment.


    "Well between you and me, I don''t have the highest opinion of muggles either. Where I come from, they were just called civilians but they knew about magic, and they always tried to get more power over us. Did everything they could to try and control us, it''s one of the reasons I left my birthplace to come out here to Europe. I don''t like people like that, but not all of them are like that. I don''t hate all muggles because of that, I''m more cautious around them because of it, but I don''t hate them. Muggleborns though, I have people in my life, important people, who''s connection to magic may not be as long and storied as ours is, and yet I still hold them in high regard. You don''t need to come from a magical line to be a good person. Tell me, why do you hate muggles and muggleborn Draco?" Riley inquired to him.


    "My father says that they are destroying our world. He says that they just barge in and think they know everything, they try to change things without learning even an ounce of our history." Draco answered.


    "That is a valid reason to despise them. However, if all you do hate them, how will they ever learn? It is acceptable to dislike those who actively attack your culture, but most of the muggleborns are unaware of how things work here. If they were educated about wizarding culture before being brought here, they might adapt better to our way of living than trying to force us to adapt to theirs," Riley stated, contemplating this topic for several moments.


    "So you think I should take a chance on the Granger girl, and Longbottom?" Draco asked her.


    "I say give them a chance. I intend to. Maybe they''ll be friends and strong allies in the future, or maybe not. Like I said, we can never guess until we know." Riley shrugged in a friendly manner.


    "Hmm¡­" She heard Madara hum.


    "What?" Riley asked.


    "Nothing, just reminded me of an old friend for a moment there." Madara responded warmly.


    Riley blinked a few times but returned her attention to Draco.


    "It''s weird¡­ never thought I''d be talking about something like this my first day at Hogwarts. Where you''d get so wise?" Draco asked her.


    "I had good teachers. They taught me to question things, encouraged me to look underneath the underneath. To see beyond things as they are." Riley replied.


    "Huh... you''ve given me a lot to think about. I''m gonna go for a walk for a bit." Draco said to her, earning a nod of acceptance from Riley as she returned to her book, the train sounded like it was close to being loaded, and ready to depart.


    Draco returned a bit later after the train had departed, and the two resumed their friendly conversation. A bit of time passed when the door to their cabin opened and a small troop of kids squeezed in, three boys, and three girls.


    "Hey Draco, we''ve been looking for you, where have you been." A girl with short dark hair asked him as she sat beside him.


    "Sorry, I got sidetracked talking to my new friend here." Draco commented, gesturing to Riley.


    All six of the children took the moment to give Riley a once over, sizing her up. She set her book aside and returned the favor, glancing around at the group.


    "Riley, this is Pansy Parkinson, Theodore Nott, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Tracey Davis, and Daphne Greengrass. Guys, this is Riley, Riley Uzumaki." Draco took the moment to introduce everyone.


    Riley scanned the group. Pansy was a short, dark-haired girl with small eyes. Theodore appeared to be a handsome boy, though he was also quite scrawny. He had dark hair and eyes. Crabbe was a pudgy boy with dark hair who looked quite brutish. Goyle was the tallest of the group; he had long legs and arms, tiny little eyes, and short hair. Tracy was a dark-haired girl with large greenish eyes; she was very good-looking for her age. Daphne had blonde hair and eyes as cold as ice. She was on the taller side and thin, her face a well-schooled mask of indifference, but Riley could see the curiosity in her eyes.


    "Nice to meet all of you." Riley said with a smile, and from there the barrage of questions began, from Draco''s friends. Riley took the time to explain a bit about herself, shaping the lie, about her being from Asia, then having moved to France for a time, then coming here to go to Hogwarts. She kept relatively vague, offering them just enough to be interesting, while encouraging them to respond in kind, so she could learn more about them.


    Their chat drifted on for hours as Riley made new friends with her schoolmates, most of them had known each other for years, their families having been friends since before they were born in many cases. Eventually though, they arrived at Hogwarts, and it was time depart from the train and make their way to the castle.


    As they departed, she took a moment to scan the area she could see that they were in a wooded area and standing nearby were a bunch of carriages ready to pick up the older students. These carriages were hooked up to these dark boney, winged horses at the front. Riley recognized them as Thestrals, a kind of magical creature that could only be seen by those who''d witnessed death. She took notice of how none of her new friends could see them, save for one. Daphne seemed to take notice of them, and after a few moments she pulled her eyes away, only for her gaze to meet with Riley''s. Riley nodded at the Thestrals, showing that she could see them too. Daphne seemed curious at that, but said nothing, the two joining the rest of the group as they made their way over to a very tall, burly looking man who was gathering all of the First Years.


    "First years, over ''ere. Alright, four to a boat, come on ye youngsters." The Large man stated as he ushered them all into row boats. Riley sat with Draco, Daphne and Tracey, the quartet finding wonderment when the boats began to move on their own, drifting elegantly across the waters, towards the towering castle in the distance.


    Riley could hear the gasps of awe, as she gained her first true glimpse of Hogwarts, and she had to admit, it didn''t disappoint. The castle was beautiful, Riley loved the look of it. She was sure that exploring the great castle would prove to be an interesting adventure.


    ''Quite the view, isn''t it?'' Madara commented.


    ''Yeah'' Riley replied with wonderment.


    A couple more moments passed as they arrived at the docks beneath the castle.


    "Alright you firs'' years can leave yer trunks ''ere, they''ll be brought to yer rooms after the sortin''." The large man told them all as they disembarked.


    Riley and the others were led into a side room, just off what Riley assumed was the great hall, the large man told them to wait there and then promptly left.


    Some chatter occurred between the students about what the sorting would be like, it was Daphne who spoke to her friends, cutting off the rumor mill and telling them that it would just be a choosing hat, that would tell them which house was best and sort them into it. No test, or surprise exam or anything.


    They remained in the side room for a few more minutes, and got to enjoy the sight of a few ghosts who playfully taunted them in anticipation for the sorting before drifting off through one of the walls.


    "Children." A female voice addressed them.


    Riley glanced over and spotted a taller, older looking woman wearing long black robes, and a tall pointy hat. She had a stern look about her, and very sharp eyes. She got them into alphabetical order and then beckoned them all to follow her and led them into the main hall.


    Riley couldn''t help but smile at the sight, the room was beautiful, and full of life. Four flags hung over four tables where all the older students watched them enter.


    The older woman then sat out a stool and a pointy hat. A moment of silence passed before the hat began to sing. Riley and the others took a few moments to enjoy the tune, and offered a polite clap at it''s conclusion before they were called up one by one to sit on the stool and be sorted.


    Riley spaced out most of the kids as they were sorted though tuned back in when it was people she recognized. Hermione got placed in Ravenclaw. Neville into Hufflepuff. Draco and all of his friends were placed into Slytherin, most of the rest of the children were split amongst the houses.


    Finally, McGonagall called her name.


    "Riley Uzumaki-Uchiha." McGonagall called out her name.


    Riley took a moment to note that it didn''t seem that the Headmaster Dumbledore recognized her. He sat up at the high table, and observed with the same curiosity he displayed as with the rest of the students. She wondered if he would recognize the names Uzumaki or Uchiha, so far it appeared like he hadn''t, but she''d have to wait and see.


    Riley sat down and the hat was placed on her head.


    ''Hm... well this is interesting. Do you know that there is a man and a giant fox living in here?'' Riley heard a voice in her head.


    ''Yep.'' Riley replied with a smile.


    ''Who might you be good sir?'' She heard the hat ask.


    ''You may call me Madara, hat. Please get this done with, it''s annoying enough dealing with the snoring fox every day, I don''t need to deal with a talking hat on top of that.'' Madara replied sounding annoyed.


    ''Yes yes... well, let''s get this done, shall we? Now where to put you Lady Uzumaki-Uchiha?'' The hat mused.


    "If I could, I''d like to go to Slytherin house. That''s where most of my new friends are going, and I think It would fit me well." Riley spoke to the hat.


    "Slytherin aye? Well you are right on that one. You certainly have the qualities to make a good Slytherin. Alright then, it''s gonna have to be¡­" "Slytherin!" The Hat called out, earning claps from her fellow students. The hat was removed from her head and Riley quickly bounced over to where Draco and the others were sitting, taking a seat beside them as the sorting continued.


    After a few moments they finished sorting the rest of the kids, afterwards Dumbledore stood, said something nonsensical, and suddenly there was food in front of them.


    Riley was more than happy to partake in the feast, rarely getting the opportunity to eat like this. She fought to control herself and keep from pigging out.


    "Hey! Do yourself a favor and don''t look at the Gryffindor table." She heard a student mutter. Curiosity getting the better of her, Riley glanced up to see a carrot topped boy, shoveling food into his mouth like this was the first time he had ever tasted food. It took a moment of watching the boy miss his face about three times before Riley lost her appetite and pushed her plate away.


    "Who is that kid over there that''s eating like he''s trying to win a contest?" Riley asked Draco.


    "That''s a Weasely. They were once a family of highborn purebloods, but they bankrupted themselves, and ended up earning the title of blood traitors. They are nobodies." Draco told her, matter of factually before adding, "You''re not going to try and befriend them too, are you?"


    "Well... not him at least. He managed to kill my appetite. I didn''t think that was possible cuz I''ll eat anything." Riley replied with some annoyance.


    Draco glanced over at the Weasely boy and adopted a look of disgust before nodding in agreement with her.


    A few more minutes went by before dinner finished, all of the plates quickly vanished, and Dumbledore stood for another announcement.


    "Now that we are all fed and watered, I have a few state of the term announcements. First, for the first years, as well as everyone, the Forbidden Forest remains forbidden. Also, our caretaker mister Filch would like to remind all of you that the third-floor corridor is off limits to any and all whom do not wish to die a most painful death. With all that said, I hope you all have a wonderful year. Prefects, please lead your houses to where they will be staying." Dumbledore finished with a smile.


    The Slytherin house prefects quickly led the students to the dungeons. They showed them how to enter their common room and showed them where they would be staying. When they were finished, their head of house stopped by for an announcement.


    "My name is Professor Severus Snape. I am the potions professor here at Hogwarts as well as your Head of house. If you have any issues bring them to me. Now to all those who are new here, know this. No matter what problems you may have with your fellow Slytherin, you are to keep them in the common room. Out there the other students see you as dark, and evil. They will use that fear against you, and you will be forced to endure. As house Slytherin we stand as one, we are united. We have won the house cup the last three years and I expect another victory this year. With that said... my door is always open. Now, time for lights out." Snape finished. He had given each one of the first years a pointed look before leaving, cloak billowing behind him dramatically.


    A moment of silence passed after Snape left. Before one of the seventh year Slytherin stepped forward and addressed the first years.


    "Alright first years listen up. There are some rules you need to learn before settling in here. First and foremost, out there we are a united front. In here however... we''re in charge." The boy stated as he gestured to his fellow seventh years.


    "If we tell you to do something... then you do it. You don''t ask why; you just do it. If you don''t? Well... it''s tough in Slytherin house. Boys and girls need to learn just what needs doing in order to make it here. As Professor Snape said, the rest of the school will treat you with ire because you''re Slytherins. We know what it takes to survive and to thrive, so do what we say, and there wont be any problems." The boy continued adding giving each of the first years a hard look, trying to intimidate them.


    "Anyone have a problem with that?" He questioned earning a number of heads shaking in the negative causing the boy to grin.


    "Excuse me." Riley spoke up, putting her plan into action.


    "What is it?" The boy questioned, drawing all focus onto her.


    "You just said the whole school will treat us terribly because we''re Slytherins. They''ll think we''re dark and evil. If I had to make a guess, certain members of this house have given them a reason to believe that." Riley noted, the boy and many of the other seventh years sharing looks, their faces twisting in confusion.


    "What are you saying kid?" The lead boy asked.


    "What I''m saying is¡­ people don''t generally believe things without a reason. My guess is that reason is you nitwits. So why should I, or anyone else for that matter, do what you say, when all you''ve done for this house is earn it the reputation of being dark and evil. If you''ve got a negative reputation you either live with it, work to fix it, or embrace it. Why should any of us listen to you guys, if you''re just tugging the line and living with that stink? Why should we follow you if you are in fact evil and twisted? It doesn''t seem like you''re interested in fixing that reputation." Riley noted.


    "This is a great house. Slytherins always earn top marks, what should we care what the rest of these mouth-breathers thinks of us." The boy replied with a growl.


    "Well¡­ most people don''t wanna associate with people who are evil. So carrying that reputation cuts us off from three-fourths of the school. And considering most highborns go to school here, and run our society, being seen as evil by three-fourths of the country seems like a pretty crap deal. So I ask again, why should we follow you lot, if you''re not working to improve the situation, or to make things better?" Riley demanded, earning several dark glares from the older kids, even as her words made sense to many of the others.


    "You don''t know a damn thing you''re talking about. You''re just some foreign brat, who got lucky enough to even come here. Step back in line, and shut up. You''ve already made enough of a scene." The boy snarled at her.


    "Make me." Riley countered, causing several gasps to come up from the first years, even her newly made friends were staring at her with disbelief.


    "She''s either brazenly stupid, or unbelievably arrogant." A seventh year girl snorted.


    "No¡­ I''m just right." Riley replied, shaking her head and stepping forward. She drew her staff, still in it''s shrunken state, so no one could tell it was anything other than a wand.


    "Put that away before you get hurt, brat." One of the seventh years snapped at her.


    "If this house is ever going to rise beyond the muck that idiots like you''ve let it fall into, than I can''t do that. Best start course correcting this broken ship now." Riley replied.


    "Are you looking to get hurt?" The lead boy questioned, as he drew his own wand.


    "A duel. If I win you shut up and do what I say. If you win, I''ll tow the line." Riley offered.


    "Fine, if it''ll shut you up." The boy responded.


    The tension didn''t even have a moment to mount, when the boy was struck by a silent spell. It came at him fast, banishing him hard across the room. He sailed over the other students behind him, slamming hard into the wall. He collapsed to the ground, gasping for air, as blood began to fill his mouth.


    Shock was the immediate response.


    "Round two?" Riley questioned, as her eyes passed over the older students.


    She corrected her glasses, the brown orbs behind them, conveying an intensity the students had rarely been exposed to over the years.


    Another boy drew his wand, Riley saw him moved, and cast a shield around herself. His spell splashed against it, much to his surprise.


    She responded, sending a few spells back at him, purposefully avoiding any of the darker more damaging spells she''d copied over the years, sticking to things that would only hurt, not maim or kill.


    The gathered students backed away, giving the two room to duel as they traded spells for a few moments.


    Riley moved without elegance. Her stance was very rigid, forceful even. She held her ground with a keen focus, driving the boy back, until she eventually landed a blow. A spell slicing across his arm, causing him to drop his wand and yell out in pain as blood flowed freely.


    "Number three?" Riley questioned, watching to see if anyone else would try and fight her. She may not have ever been in a magical duel before, but she had fought against many magicals over the years, and seen them fight. She''d learned to copy their movements, she knew how this dance was done. These kids may have been her seniors but they were no warriors.


    None of them had the combat experience she did, nor the reserves of power that she did.


    Seeing how none of them had yet to recover from their shock, Riley chose to wow them one final time.


    She twirled her staff in her hand for a moment before enlarging to it''s normal size. Students throughout the room gasped as they recognized it. Though some, knew of it''s deeper meaning. Only someone with a truly incredibly amount of magic, carried a staff, and here she was, a first year, carrying one of her own.


    "There will be no more fighting in this house. You wanna fight someone, you come fight me. I''m more than happy to oblige. I don''t intend to follow the status quo. We are the future of this house, and it will be changed for the better. That process starts now. You either help us, or get out of our way. Anyone who has a problem with that, feel free to challenge me." Riley spoke, her gaze lingering on her staff for a moment as she waited to see if anyone else would do anything.


    None of the older students spoke, in fact no one did. A chilling realization was washing through the room, this girl, this foreigner had just taken down two seventh years without much difficulty. Change was coming to Slytherin House, and that change, now had a name. The old way of doing things was dead, here before them stood the new Queen of Slytherin House.


    -To Be Continued-