Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Naruto in any way shape or form. I only claim rights to the original characters placed therein: Suko and Shoumi. Kozueya is a character borrowed with the permission from Arcander.


Red. Everything was red—the rain that splattered in her hair and the grass that drank it. The sky, the trees, the bird… bird. It burned. Fire. Fire and blood. Everywhere. The definition of red.

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Suko slammed her head against the bunk above her, falling sideways in her disorientation and crashing to the floor with an audible groan. It took her a moment to figure out where she was, and why her head felt like a watermelon that had just been introduced to a baseball bat. Burrowing into the pile of blankets she had dragged with her to the floor, she stared blankly ahead to wooden door of her tiny apartment. The sun shone weakly in the empty room, barely casting enough light to give shadows to the two or three pieces of simple furniture. Okay, she thought, forcing herself up and rubbing the bump on her forehead, it is morning. I'm in my room. I hit my head…… ouch.

Grimacing, she got to her feet and stumbled to the closet, running her fingers through her long auburn hair in an attempt to tame it before grabbing the simple gray tunic and long black leggings that she wore on almost any given day. Slipping them on, she synched the soft periwinkle belt tightly around her waist, making the tunic appear like a simple dress, smiling as she spun a little before the mirror. Her hair would need a little more work, but at least she had plenty of time. She sat back down on her bed, careful not to bump against the bunk again as she pulled out her brush, trying to recall the dream that had caused her to awake in such a panic this morning. She normally could remember her dreams…


She fell to the ground, tiny form trembling as she tried to force her lungs to expand—to take in air—but they refused.

"Again!"

"I… can't… breathe…"

"You will never master this technique if you do not try to the point of death. Again!" The voice hissed, cold yellow eyes boring into hers.

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She was so tired. She could barely move. 'Keep going. You have to get away. If he catches yo—footsteps. Lots.. From where? Behind? Ahead? Can't tell. Can't think.' "…ight? …llo? Sen..e… sh...s no… onding."

'Focus on their words.'

"Give her some air Kozueya. Shoumi, take the class back to the village, then alert the hospital that I'm bringing in an injured girl."

'The names aren't familiar… not them. Then who?'

A pair of strong arms picked her up carefully after checking to see if she was wounded, carrying her farther in the direction she'd been going. 'I'm okay…'

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'Lavender?' She didn't move, and not knowing where she was she didn't dare open her eyes. Running through each of her senses, she felt the weight of the sheets against her and the soft cushion of the mattress below. The smell of the lavender seemed to be coming from off to her right, which she assumed to be flowers, but might also be perfume or something. She could hear someone talking, but it was muffled. Probably from the other side a door or wall. Hearing nothing but a faint clicking noise in the room with her she cautiously opened her eyes to find herself lying in a hospital bed, soft afternoon light washing over the room. On a small table beside her sat a little jar with some wild lavender inside, a note hanging from one of the leaves read 'Get well soon, Academy Class 4a.' Well, whoever found her must not mean to harm her, wishing her well. She sat up slowly and leaned back on the pillows, looking out the window. She wondered where she was exactly. "You're up! Wonderful! We were beginning to think you were dead. I'm Kozueya! What's your name?" A strange voice from a strange girl.


She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Dreams like those…" Her usual dreams. The day they found her… a few weeks later when she first met her friends… and of course… before she had arrived in Konoha. She scrunched up her face a bit and threw the brush back on the bed. She remembered even the worst of dreams… but this one. Red. That was it. That was all she could remember. "Mou…" Her hitai-ate in hand, she stuck her tongue out at the whole thing and hopped out the door to go meet her team for their daily assignment.


Naruto yawned, bright blue eyes twinging in the sun as he rolled over in bed, his nightcap falling to the floor. His unruly mop of golden blonde hair stuck out every which way as he climbed from his bed and made his way to the bathroom. It had taken him a while to fall asleep the night before, and when he finally had it had been the strangest dream he'd ever experienced. It started off like they usually did… he was off training or on a mission and talking to Sakura, only this time it wasn't Sakura. He thought whoever it was looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place her face and the longer he thought about it the more obscure it seemed to become.

He scratched his head, grabbing his toothbrush and shrugging to off. It would be time for lunch soon, and a good bowl of ramen always got rid of any bothersome thoughts. The image of her hand in his flashed through his mind. He could almost smell her hair and feel the weight of her head on his shoulder. Her eyes… Nope! I love Sakura. He thought forcefully, spitting into the sink and wiping his face with his towel. Funny. Your heart beat jumped at the thought of this mystery girl. Shut up Kyuubi. The door clicked shut behind him, his hand over his eyes a moment until they adjusted to the light, smiling as he turned down the street, the wind ruffling his hair a bit as he moved towards Ichiraku's.


Author's Note: Greetings all and welcome to Kitsune no Tori (The Fox's Bird). This is my first official fic, and I hope everyone will enjoy it. A few things I should mention. First is formatting. Long lines mean a change in scene. Short ones mean just a small shift. Whole paragraphs in italics are flashbacks or dreams, while sentences are thoughts. Demons speak in bold because they're cool that way. Second note is chapter length. I hope that this will be the shortest chapter of any part of my fic, since it is just a little intro. I will try to make each chapter around 2,000 words; therefore my updates may take a little while. If you have any questions feel free to send me a message and I'll answer it as best I can. I hope to have the next chapter up within a couple weeks. Until then. – Link Disengaged --