Chapter 1

Kyoko groaned as she opened her eyes. A hiss escaped her throat at the pain pounding around her skull but she still forced herself to look around.

What happened? Where am I?

As she stood, she gently touched her head and cringed when her hand came away slightly reddish. Looking around, she saw that the sun was near the horizon and the buildings surrounding her were completely foreign. Panic bubbled in the back of her throat and her eyes darted about, trying to find any sign of her parents. The alley she was in was empty other than a single pile of trash at the very end and the road was full of strangers going about their day. Nothing looked familiar and she stumbled back into the alley. With a sob she curled into a ball, huddling against the wall as she hoped she would wake up from this bad dream.

"Are you ok?" a soft voice asked her, breaking through her melancholy. She looked up and saw a short boy with blonde hair and blue eyes standing in front of her. Concern was written all over his face and Kyoko tried to talk past the lump in her throat.

"I don't know where I am, or where my parents are and I'm scared," she managed to get out in a hoarse whisper.

"This is Konoha," the boy told her, trying to be helpful. "What do you parents look like? Maybe we can find them together. Then you won't be scared."

The boy held out his hand to her and she couldn't help but take it. He looked at least a few years younger than her but surely a friend of any age was better than being alone.

"So what do your parents look like?" the boy asked again as he led her out of the alley. Kyoko opened her mouth to answer and then closed it again. No matter how hard she tried to think of their faces or how they looked she couldn't remember.

"I don't know," she finally said, tears flowing down her face. "I can't remember."

"It's ok, don't cry. I don't know what my parents look like either," the boy said, trying to console her. "And if you're lonely you can stay with me. Then neither of us will be lonely or scared."

"Who takes care of you?" Kyoko asked, wiping the tears off her face. The more she focused on the boy, the easier it was for her to ignore the tightness in her chest.

"Well I was staying at the orphanage but they kicked me out so it's just me," the blonde said cheerfully. "It's ok though, I'm a big kid now."

"Why would they kick you out?" Kyoko pressed, frowning now. Orphanages were supposed to care for kids without families, even she knew that.

"They didn't like me very much," the boy said, looking at the ground nervously. "But I can take you there. I'm sure they'd let you stay until you could find your parents."

"No way!" Kyoko startled the boy with how forceful it came out so she hurried to explain herself. "I wouldn't want to stay anywhere that would kick someone like you out. We'll just stick together instead!"

The boy gave her a wide grin and Kyoko felt a small smile form on her own face.

"I'm Kyoko by the way, and I'm seven years old," she said, slipping her hand into the younger boy's.

"I'm Naruto, and I'm going to be five soon," Naruto told her shyly.

"Naruto-kun? I like it. It's a nice name," Kyoko said with a nod, causing Naruto to give her another of his thousand watt smiles.

"Kyoko-chan's name is really nice too," Naruto said swinging their arms a little and setting off.

"So where are we going Naruto-kun?"

"Well it's getting kinda late so we should find someplace to sleep."

"I don't have any money though."

"That's ok, I don't either but it's really nice out so we can sleep outside," Naruto told her, obviously used to doing so.

"Alright, and while we walk, tell me more about Konoha. I really can't remember much of anything," Kyoko said, her eyes darting around as she took in the strange sites.

"Well Konoha is a ninja village and…"

The next few days were especially hard for Kyoko. She frequently dreamed of shadowy figures and everything seemed so strange to her even without her memories. It was also hard learning to live on the street. Finding places to sleep wasn't bad but no one would give food to the two children and after a few days her clothes were as dirty as Naruto's had been when they met. Somehow they managed though, and Kyoko fell into the role of older sister, watching out for Naruto and making sure he always got more of the food when they did find it.

A few times she even caught adults shooting dirty looks or glares in their direction, but she would just tighten her hold on Naruto's hand and ignore them or glare back.

They were walking down another random street on their fourth day together when a middle aged man stepped out of his shop and waved to Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, I haven't seen you for awhile now," the man said, grinning. Naruto grinned back and dragged Kyoko over in his excitement.

"Hey Teuchi-jiji. I've been busy. How's Ayame-san?" Naruto asked

"She's good. Who's your friend?" Teuchi asked, eyeing Kyoko warily as she did the same.

"This is Kyoko-chan. She's sorta an orphan like me and she was lonely and I found her and now we're friends," Naruto explained, though Kyoko realized it wasn't really an explanation at all.

"I don't remember my parents or where I came from," Kyoko said softly. "Naruto found me in an alley and let me stay with him so I wouldn't be lonely."

"Ah, I see."

"I'm looking after him now though," Kyoko hurried to add, seeing the uncertainty on Teuchi's face. "Well, we're sorta looking after each other…"

"That's good then," Teuchi said, breaking into a smile. "Naruto-kun doesn't have many good friends so I'm glad he found you. Now you two look hungry, so how about some ramen?"

"We don't have any money though," Kyoko said, looking down.

"That's alright. It's on the house. Consider it a celebration of your friendship with Naruto-kun."

"Really? You're the best jiji," Naruto said as he darted into the ramen stand bodily dragging Kyoko with him.

"Thank you very much," Kyoko said as she took a seat next to Naruto.

"What kind of ramen do you like?" Teuchi asked as he stepped behind the counter.

"Miso ramen for me!" Naruto called and Kyoko chuckled.

"I'll try the pork ramen please."

"One miso and one pork ramen coming right up," a girl said from the kitchen. "You don't mind if I make it do you Naruto-kun? I'm practicing today."

"I'll always try what you make Ayame-san," Naruto called back and Kyoko couldn't help looking a little confused.

"That's my daughter," Teuchi said with a grin. "She's been helping out at the stand for awhile now so Naruto-kun is pretty close with her. He always says hi when he comes to visit us."

"I'm glad Naruto-kun has adults that look after him too," Kyoko said quietly, gazing at the wooden countertop. "A lot of the grownups don't act very friendly so I was worried."

"Just keep your eyes open," Teuchi said, setting a hand on her shoulder. "And if you need help just come here ok."

Kyoko nodded and started to say more but then the ramen was ready and all she could think about was finally getting an actual meal.

"Isn't this the best!" Naruto said as he inhaled his bowl. Ayame chuckled and set a second bowl in front of him without a word.

"It's very good," Kyoko replied with a chuckle of her own. "I don't see how you can eat so much though. It's going to be hard to finish one bowl."

In the end she managed to finish her one, while Naruto ate a total of three. They thanked Teuchi and Ayame again for the food and then set off to their current camping spot. With a full stomach it wasn't hard for them to fall into a deep sleep.

A few weeks later Kyoko had gotten used to Konoha and stopped missing a home she didn't remember. While occasionally she would feel a slight ache in her chest it was becoming less and less frequent and her memories seemed to fade more and more. Naruto taught her everything he knew about Konoha's history, ninja, and the Hokage whose faces decorated the mountainside. At least twice a week they would eat at the ramen stand, courtesy of Teuchi, and the rest of the time they would fend for themselves. While it wasn't easy they managed to get by and that was enough for her.

"Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" Kyoko asked for the third time that day. Ever since Naruto had seen some of the vendors decorating for a festival he had been withdrawn and uncertain.

"We shouldn't go into the village later today," he finally said voice laced with something Kyoko couldn't place.

"Don't you want to see the festival though? I thought you would love seeing a festival," she said, confused. Naruto was always full of energy for new things and even she was a little excited.

"It's not safe," Naruto said as he blinked back tears.

"Not safe? But," and then Kyoko's voice trailed off as she thought back over the last few days and how many more glares the two of them had been getting. "Never mind, you're right. We'll head back to our spot now ok. Make sure to hold on tight to my hand. I'll keep you safe just like I promised."

Naruto nodded and tightened his hand on hers. He took the lead and started heading towards the Hokage Mountain. Kyoko realized that it was probably the safest place, but she also realized how far they were from it. It was already mid afternoon and they were on the opposite side of the city. Even if they ran they wouldn't get there before the festival had started.

They wouldn't dare attack in broad daylight though, right?

Kyoko nearly sighed with relief as she recognized the last few blocks until they would reach the path to the mountain. They had made it safely.

"Well well well, what have we here?" a middle aged man said, stepping out in front of them. Kyoko moved in front of Naruto and glared at the man.

"What do you want?"

"Just the demon brat behind you. If you know what's good for you, you'll get out of my way," the man hissed and Kyoko could smell a foul stench coming off of him.

"Leave Naruto-kun alone!"

"Why should I? He should've been killed a long time ago," the man said, stepping towards them. Kyoko stepped backwards and was going to tell Naruto to go the other way when she heard a laugh from behind her.

"Looks like we'll be able to take care of it this year though," a second balding man said as he and a third walked out from behind them. Kyoko's eyes darted around and she noticed the small alley. As fast as she could, she grabbed Naruto's hand and darted into the alley, hoping it led out to another street. All too soon she realized it was a dead end and the three coming behind them knew it.

"Nowhere to run girly, so you had best get out of our way," Smelly said. Baldy was grinning behind him while the more serious man just stood and watched.

Creep, he'll be creep, Kyoko told herself, trying to stay calm.

"I won't let you hurt Naruto-kun," Kyoko said fiercely and a random memory floated through her head.

When facing attackers larger than yourself, you have to stay calm. Take a deep breath, center yourself and then extend your senses. Don't just look at one part of them, watch the entire scene, listen for their movement, and feel it. Keep your stance light and use their size against them.

Her feet slid into a half open stance her front foot pointing towards them and her back foot nearly at a ninety degree angle from it. She left her hands hanging loosely at her side and took a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds and then letting it out. Another breath and she felt centered. The men just stood there watching her until she took her third breath.

"Naruto-kun, try to stay up against the wall behind me," she said as the first man lunged forward.

"Don't say I didn't warn you brat," he yelled, punching straight at her face. As graceful as a dancer she pivoted on her front foot and caught his punch. His momentum carried him further forward as she spun 180 degrees and squatted down, causing him to flip onto his back and land with a solid thunk.

"Why you-," Baldy said as he rushed forward, reaching for her shirt. She stood and pivoted around the punch again, catching his wrist and elbow from the back and shoving him face first into the side of a building. His face made a wet crunching sound and he crumpled as she let go of him.

Creep watched her carefully and drew a long dagger. Silently he walked closer to her and she forced herself to take a deep breath, resetting her stance and loosening her arms. Treating the dagger like a sword, Creep thrust it straight at her like he was trying to skewer her. She merely half stepped out of the way and grabbed his wrist, redirecting his movement so that he ran around her in a semi circle. As he reached her other side, she reversed directions sharply and twisted his wrist backwards over his arm sending him flipping to the ground even as she felt cracking and popping in his wrist and hand. To be sure he didn't get up to follow them, she put her foot to his throat and yanked, pulling the shoulder out of socket and allowing him to drop the knife.

Her mind didn't stop there though. Another memory briefly surfaced and she instinctively followed it.

Once they are disabled, the next step is to get away. Our art doesn't teach to kill, only to stop, so it is imperative you do not assume they won't follow you.

She walked over to Naruto, watching the men the entire time. As soon as his hand was in hers, she led him along the far side of the alleyway, never letting her eyes leave the bodies on the ground.

Once they were clear of the alley though she took off towards Hokage Mountain, pulling Naruto behind her. When he tripped, she stopped only long enough to lift him onto her back. Then she started jogging again, pushing her body as hard as she could and maintaining the breathing exercise. Eventually she felt her energy ebb and she was forced to set Naruto back down. The two of them found a small cluster of trees and bushes that would shield them from the view of the road. With a groan Kyoko practically collapsed against the tree and Naruto curled up next to her as exhaustion finally caught up to both of them. Before sleep claimed her Kyoko slid her arms around Naruto and pulled him close.

AN: Ok guys so had this plot bunny hit while working on Copy Ninja and Pup. You can thank Giselle Satomi for me sharing it since she liked it enough to tell me to lol. Enjoy and I'll try to update this regularly but Copy Nin takes precedent. See you guys later and R&R…you know I love reviews!