Death in my head was an inevitable fact that I accepted completely. It made me anxious every time I thought about what was next. It sure as hell wasn't this. No golden gates on fluffy clouds that's for sure. There was warmth and darkness. I couldn't see anything but it was very tight and I can't move. The way I died was stupid.

I still remember the day that lead up to this. A lack of attention in a construction sight and next thing I knew, pain. I was coming back to my apartment from the university I attended. My major was in art. I had a good family too. Siblings, mom, dad, cousins. I was running late because of city people traffic and my work uniform was still at home.

Being the brilliant person I am, I wanted to take a shortcut. An office building being built only had the frame done so I decided to cut through and across the lot. I didn't see the unstable steel bars hanging by some cord above me. There was no way I would have know that the metal rope I tripped over was one that held up one of the corners or that it would come out of the ground.

I dozed in and out of unconsciousness. There was no time or anything in this cramped blackness.

Suddenly there was noise. I'm jolted awake my massive hands and muffled voices. I can make out the words though. The warmth was gone. But that didn't matter. I was fucking terrified! My first instinct was to scream. And scream I did.

A soft and weak voice spoke right into my ear. Cooing and hushing like I was a baby. Wait… I AM a baby! I just got reborn! The shock of it only made me cry more. When a much deeper voice spoke, I managed to calm down. I grab onto a thick material. The man, my father most likely, nuzzled my head. He smelled nice to me.

"She's so tiny… smaller despite being the first." A different voice said. The words clearer now that panic subsided. "She seems partial to you."

"I'm glad." Father says. I still can't see him. That love and adoration in his voice was so deep. I wanted to see his face. The sound itself was melodic. I heard another cry. My sibling. My twin. I was moved to another place and I heard her. My mother's voice was tired and soft as she said something. Whoever held me was carrying me away now.

But then I was ripped away by cold hands. Something even colder and hard was pressed against my. I could feel myself trembling in fear. My heart started beating wildly in my chest, filling my ears. Whatever was wrapped around me previously was thrown off, followed a loud boom, heat, then cold air.

I was useless. I was vulnerable. Helpless in my inability to move on my own. A body was placed beside me. My sibling. He was quiet and sound asleep. I had a feeling it was a boy. With the small comfort of being close to him, I cried myself to sleep. It was some time later that I was awoken by loud crying and so much noise. He was sad. It didn't feel right. I started crying as well. Something is in the air around us.

There was a wave of something dark, something evil directed at me and my sibling. An intent to kill us both. It burned me. It burns and felt like acid in my stomach. It stopped suddenly. There was also the smell of blood. Mom and dad were talking but they both sounded so weak.

Then that energy in the air began to subside, the burning continued but not as bad as it must have been for my twin. He was screaming his head off like he was shoved inside a boiler.

And then nothing.

All was quiet.

All was still.

It was when I could see that I realized exactly what happened. I woke up in my crib with clearer vision and took one look at my twin to see a blonde, whiskered, tan boy. I was a devoted fan to a certain anime series so there was no way I wouldn't recognize him.

Naruto Uzumaki.

(Five years later)

I grumble as loud buzzing fills the room. I get up and look beside me to see my brother. The breakfast bell would normally excite a kid. Not for us though. The fucking hags are just as cold as the rest of the civilians outside and feed us very small portions.

Shaking him awake, I climb out of bed to get ready for another horrible day. Life was the opposite from what I had before. A big family to none but one. Well off in life to poor and broke. I should be happy that I only ended up with a piece of chakra instead of Kurama himself and all his world loathing bullshit.

However… my appearance was affected greatly. I looked like a fox. Vibrant cherry red hair with even darker blood red tips that won't go away even when I cut it. I call bullshit on that anime logic. My pupils were feline-like which creeped out a lot of civilians and even shinobi. My teeth had long sharpened canines on the upper row. Naru is lucky to just have the whiskers.

I took most of my physical traits after mom. I had her eye shape and pale skin. But my eyes were just as blue as my brother's and my face had a narrowness that dad had.

I pull on black shorts and over that is a purple kimono styled blouse with sleeves going past my wrists. There was a cut on my upper arms just past my shoulders for air. It looked more like a short dress with my height. It was bound together by off-white bandage wraps. The same kind I wrap from my mid shin to my ankles. I liked my style.

As a fan of the series I naturally drew ninja outfit designs of my own. I look back at the bed and sigh. "Naru-chan. Get up. Teuchi-san has breakfast for us and it's getting cold." He grumbles into his pillow. I lean close to his ear and whisper, "The ghost is hiding under your bed."

"AH!" He jumps up and looks around. Not seeing a ghost, he glares at me. "Not funny dattebayo!"

"Get dressed yeah?"

"Fiiiine" I go ahead and open the window and grab my ratty leather satchel I found in a dumpster a while back. It was great to carry stolen food. Jumping out, I land on the street outside. This early in the morning only had shopkeepers getting out of their homes. Naruto lands beside me.

We make our way to Ichiraku by going through backroads. I listen fondly to my brother rave about plans to prank some of the mean owners that bully us in the stores. "I'm going to paint all the windows till nobody can see into them, dattebayo!"

I laugh and ruffle his soft spiky hair. "Maybe after we get into the academy, you can prank ninja yeah? Can't be hokage if you can't trick the best shinobi yeah?"

Naru grins wider at me and I feel the warmth he makes bloom in my chest. One I know very well. It's the love I felt when holding my baby brother for the first time to feed him a bottle. It's unique to older siblings. You just take one look and you want to protect that smile forever. I notice us approaching the ramen shop. The blonde took off ahead of me at the speed that could rival a food motivated Akamichi.

"Naru-chan! Wait up yeah?"

"Where's your sister?"

I walk in and climb up onto a stool. "I'm here Teuchi-san."

Ayame isn't working at this time. If I get the math right, she's only ten and will be at civilian school right now. I always viewed her as a favorite minor character. Even more now since she and her father are probably the only civilians that see Naruto and, by extension, me as people. As children. My bet is on the man knowing Minato and Kushina personally. He didn't turn him away.

I smile and order a small bowl while Naruto went with the large one. I never had much of an apatite when it came to breakfast. Ramen with shrimp was actually pretty good. It became my regular. After finishing my food, I lean close to Naruto. "I'll meet you at the spot later yeah?"

"Yeah!"

I scowl at him for saying my verbal tic as a response but shake it off and kissed his forehead. There was something from the crafting shop I wanted and I'd rather not have the owner glaring at my brother while I get it. I blink at the tingling feeling I have on my back and turn my head just enough to see a masked figure in my peripheral vision. I look up at the sky to not give away that I saw them. It was kind of creepy to have anbu on your tail all hours of the day but I understood that I was vulnerable at this age.

From what I saw, it was a tiger mask. The only anbu operative assigned to me while Naruto had more. Bakashi being one of them. Was Yugao? Not sure. I have no other names aside from Tenzo. Shaking my thoughts and musings away, I start walking down the street.

It takes effort to not glare at the civilians. Never was the type to keep emotions in but I can at least be polite when speaking. Like an ex. Just smile and nod while secretly wanting to snap his neck. When I get to the store, I shuffle to the art supplies. I'll buy enough sketchbooks and pencils to hopefully last me a long time so I won't have to come back too soon. I grab five and make my way to the counter. Unsurprisingly, I was met with a suspicious look. So I did what I always do. Stares at him blankly.

"T-twenty ryo." The bastard stutters out and I drop the cash in front of him. Leave the change, take the cannoli. The inner reference makes me snicker out loud. Probably not putting the man at ease in any way. Don't care. I put my new belonging into my bag and leave. On my way out I ran nose first into something hard. Looking up I see the face of an academy age kid.

"Hey! Watch where you- oh. It's the demon girl. Guys check this out!" He wore a brown beanie and black jacket over his generic appearance. Brown hair and dark eyes.

The other two boys that come over are just as boring so I won't bother describing. I take a step back look around. Some adults are watching. Doing nothing…. Baring my teeth, I growl at him. "Gross. She acts like a dog!"

"You even human Oni-chan?"

"Your eyes are creepy."

I am not going to put up with this. I grab my satchel strap and glare. "Back off yeah!"

"Or what. Gonna tell you parents."

My body tenses up on its own while I could feel the hairs in my neck stand like bristling fur.

"Oh I see… you don't have any!"

Tears roll down my cheeks before I could stop them and I rub at my eyes furiously. I shake myself out of my daze and start running. I can hear them chasing me. They're so close and I can't outrun them with my frail body and short legs. Combined with the heavy weight of my bag, I won't get far. I duck into a familiar alley and see the gap in the boards and quickly get down to crawl through. A hand grabs my ankle but I scratch it with my claws. "Ouch!"

I run faster, hoping to put more distance between us. I turn a sharp corner out onto the road and slam right into something…. again. I'll probably break my nose if this keeps up. Two hands grab my shoulders and I immediately lash out. Digging my nails into one of the arms and biting down into the flesh, canines piercing the cloth. I hear a hiss of pain but no scream. Pain tolerance meant… oh god. I just bit a shinobi. I'm about to look up at my victim but they pull me close to their chest and I can hear the bullies approach.

"Hold on." A gentle voice says before strong wind whips around us while the noise of the village streets are drowned out. This must be a shunshin. I've never been transported with that before. It felt like flying! When it stopped, I was a little disappointed. I look up to see a teenager. Black hair curly and unkempt, pale skin, somewhat broad nose, and pretty eyes with long lashes. He's handsome and vaguely familiar. Everyone was real and unanimated here so it was a little hard to translate what I remember to what they could look like now.

Red catches my eye and I look down at his arm. The bite on his forearm was deep and gushing blood. Guilt gripped at my chest and I look up at him. "I-I'm so sorry!"

The boy laughs and ruffles my tangled hair. "Hey. A girl should always use the weapons she's given for defense." He closes one onyx eye in a wink. "What's your name spitfire?"

"Uzumaki Yona."

"I'm Shisui." My eyes widen in realization and he noticed. "You know me?"

I nod quickly. "You're in the tiny book! One of the fastest ninja of Konoha!"

"And how did you get one of those?"

"Err…. stole it?" Yeah. More like researched heavily on narutopedia. He crosses his arms but then winces.

"I'll need to go to Miko-chan. Want to tag along? Those bullies might be nearby still."

I highly doubt that's true but I shrugged. What's a kid supposed to do but be very trusting? Not that I care about acting the part to the best of my abilities. It's like pulling teeth dumbing things down when I talk already. I'm lifted up and placed on Shisui's shoulders. I grapple onto his hair so I won't fall off.

Just like that, we were flying again. Bubbling laughter rises in my chest and I screw my eyes shut tight against the wind. When it all stopped, I open them to see a very familiar fan emblem on the walls of the stone fence. A mansion probably lies past it. The Uchiha complex was a place I never expected to be visiting at any point in this lifetime. Given how the council believes in Danzo's lies, any uchiha that was close to Kushina and Minato were not allowed near us.

Speaking of, I'm starting to realize who Shisui meant by 'Miko-chan'. He sets me on the porch before waltzing into the building. "Mi-chan! You home?" A gentle voice calls from down the hall. I follow Shisui cautiously, my guard up all the way in this new environment. How expensive is a small compound?

Now that I'm thinking on it, did me and Naruto have a house left to us at all? That's something I will need to confront the Hokage about. Naruto won't live in a dingy apartment forever if I have a say about it. "Shisui! What did you do? Get into a fight with dog? Or was it Tora?" Came the voice of a mother. Mother's always have a certain tone about them which is naturally comforting.

"Um well actually… Yona. No need to hide."

I stepped into the kitchen, looking down. I didn't want to see a glare from the Uchiha woman after being recognized. Or worse, the sadness at looking at a reminder. "Y-yona? Uzumaki Yona?"

"Hai."

Suddenly arms wrap around me in an embrace and I freeze. My brain stutters to a stop. She pulls back with tears in her onyx eyes making them sparkle like obsidian pools. "I'm Mikoto. It is so nice to finally meet you!"

"Uh." Yes. How very eloquent of me.

"Oh. Sorry. I got carried away. It's just, you look so much like a friend of mine."

Yeah but a hug like that expressed something else. "Uh…" I shake my head and grin. "It's fine. Just not used to hugs from anyone but my brother."

A gasp sounded behind me and I look to see Shisui with an exaggerated shocked expression. "No hugs? That is unacceptable!" He picks me up in his arms and I'm left to dangle in his strong but actually very comfortable grip. "I am now assigned as your designated hug giver." He grins down at me and I couldn't help but do the same. I always wondered how nice he was. I saw that he was playful with Sasuke and Itachi but I'm not an Uchiha.

"You're going to reopen the wound." I could already smell the blood.

Mikoto took a first aid kit out from under the sink and gestured for him to take a seat. "So how does this have anything to do with you Yona-chan?"

"I bit him. I didn't see who it was till after though. I uh…. Have sharp teeth." She glances lower and I purse my lips. "They scare people."

The Uchiha lady frowned at that and looked thoughtful as she wrapped Shisui's arm. "A shame. You look like such a lovely girl. Well I'm not mad at you for defending yourself from a stranger so don't worry about this. Now that I'm done, you run along home."

"Yes ma'am." He gave a big salute before ruffling my hair. "See you around Yo-chan!"

I stared at the window he jumps through long after he vanished. "I thought your clansmen were strict and serious."

Mikoto chuckles, packing away her materials. "To most outside I suppose. Shisui is very open however. His father as well. They were very cheerful. On the topic… Do you know anything about your parents?"

Yes. "No."

"I see. I know it is a rule to not say anything. But."

"You know my mom, don't you yeah?" My tic was coming out the more I relaxed.

"Yes…" She sighs. "Perhaps you should go to the hokage. I wouldn't want to break the rules."

"Don't worry. I have a pretty good guess on who she is yeah."

Mikoto kneels at the short table and smiles. "Oh?"

"I uh. Stole a bingo book and it's an old copy. Has war heroes in it. Only one person in Konoha has red hair yeah? However, my weird eyes, teeth, and nails come are shown on nobody else except Inuzuka members."

It was silent. Did I say too much? "Aren't you a smart girl!" She praises sincerely. "And only five. You also speak well for your age. Are you going into the academy?" Whoops. I forgot to dumb it down.

"Mhm. Naru-chan wants to be Hokage and I'll be his right hand gal all the way yeah!"

"I have no doubt you will excel in your classes. You might be in the same one as Sasuke, my youngest. He is the same age as you two."

The entrance door down the hall sides open and closes. The pitter patter of running feet approaches quickly before the tiny version of Sasuke runs in. "Okaa-san! There is a strange boy outside." He looks at me and stares. Not at me though. At my hair. "Tomato?"

Before I could respond to that, I hear shouting. "Aneue!" That would be Naruto. I walk past the Uchiha and out into the front yard. I'm tackled back inside by a golden ball of sunshine. "Where were you dattebayo?! You didn't come back! I went looking and then this guy showed up and told me to come here and then, then, -"

I cover his mouth before he continues the rant. My god does this boy have lungs. "I'm okay Naru-chan. I had to run from bullies again and someone saved me. I met a nice lady though! Wanna meet 'er?"

"In there?" I nod. Patting his head, he releases me so I could stand before holding onto my sleeve. He was nervous about going deeper into the house. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a few more Uchiha staring at us from beyond the gate. Leading Naruto into the kitchen, I glance at Sasuke who was chomping away at a tomato.

Maybe he wasn't talking about my hair and was looking over me to his mom and asking her for the veggie. Mikoto smiles at Naruto, looking misty eyed again. This woman was such a sweetheart. No wonder Kushina liked her. "Would you two like to stay for lunch?"

Was it that time already? Huh. "If it's okay.""

"Of course it is. I need to go fetch the ingredients so you three get along okay?"

"Hai!" Came the reply from Sasuke after he swallows the last of his snack.

Now alone with the raven haired boy with no signs of being that angsty preteen I was used to, I was at a loss. I can talk to adults just fine but to a kid? I don't exactly remember how that works. Thankfully I didn't have to be the first to speak. My wonderful brother did that for me.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! And this is my Aneue Yona."

"We're twins believe it or not."

"Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke." Oh fuck me. He does that at this age too? It wasn't being cool and shit?

My hair stands on end with the feeling of being watched. Turning around, I see nine year old Itachi standing in the doorway. Young, no anbu gear in sight, and unaware of his fate in the future. This is the pacifist I came to cry for after his death. That was the biggest surprise I had in any anime. You watch all of the first season and hate him until the truth is revealed. If your heart doesn't ache for him, then you have no soul.

New mission: Save him.

A/N Retrying a hand at reincarnation in a timeline that has more to work with. Hopefully this one works out so much better.