Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, only my obvious characters.

Light the Darkness

Chapter: 1

Life was never full of gumdrops and rainbows, nor bubblegum and fairies, but then again life never was for a ninja. It was always a cluster-fuck of discipline and determination being able to transform long hours of training full of blood, sweat, and tears into something miraculous and life changing.

When your young, impressionable, the picture of innocence, that's when you believe the world is all flowers and rainbows, with prancing unicorns. The mind cant tolerate a human being, being anything less than good and pure. Trust is given freely. Nothing is tainted by the touch of evil, because a child, the picture of innocence cant depict such an occurrence, it doesn't understand.

I didn't understand…

One minute I believed my world to be the picture of wondrous excitement. Yes, the way the plants danced in the wind, the manipulation of colors in the sky when the glowing sphere of light rose in the morning and descended in the evening, everything was as it was. No care in the world, I didn't have a care in the world, until that day…

"Thinking about the past wont change what is, things happen for a reason Moriko even if we don't necessarily understand that reason…"

"I know, but on a peaceful day like today… it brings back a few memories is all. Did you grab the scrolls Katsu?" reluctantly I rose from my sprawled position on the fresh grass beneath, loving how it brushed against my bare arms as I moved. Peering behind me I watched Katsu, my permanent summoning beast, as he stood, scroll swinging from his closed muzzle as he gazed at the shifting clouds in a sea of blue.

Since before I could remember I've had Katsu, I even named him. For the longest time I thought he was a dog, more specifically a German Shepherd, and for a while he didn't correct me, it wasn't until my brother said that he was a fox that I realized that in fact he was one, which I'm still slightly baffled as to how I would even think he was a dog, he was definitely all fox. His silky coat had mixtures of brindle and burnt orange, he had a small milky white path that speared over his chest and belly contrasting heavily with his dark coat. In all honesty he was a handsome fox, the perfect picture of what a fox should look like, even his slanted golden hued eyes made him look majestic and untamed, but don't get me wrong, he was completely loyal.

The clouds twisted and bunched together as Katsu starred almost dazed at the clouds, Moriko was right, one could become lost in their thoughts on a day like today.

"Moriko, we should find some sort of shelter, the scent of rain is in the air, it wont be long before the sky's gray and the winds strong. I have a feeling that we'll be in doors for the rest of the day with this one," Katsu made it more of a statement than a question.

"I know, I could feel the pressure building while I was waiting for you to make it back here," I muttered with a grin before adding, "slow poke," earning me a meaningful glare.

"Let's move out then, is our hideout still concealed from before?"

"Yeah I managed to check it out, it still looks like it did before we left, there isn't a thing missing nor changed, we'll be dry and warm there. Did you read the scroll?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me as he handed it over.

"No, I only retrieved it from our employer, I figured we could read over it together." Carefully I placed it in my pack on my hip and we casually set off.

"Hmm… what type of mission do you think it is this time?" I was genuinely curious, we were on a personal mission all the time, we only picked up rogue missions if it was on the way, it kept us busy and our skills up to par.

"Well from the nerves coming off the guy he was either afraid of being caught, or, he was afraid of failing his mission, it's just a hunch, but I'm thinking it's either an infiltration or assassination," Katsu said looking meaningful at the possibilities.

"That nervous huh?" he assured me with a light nod. "Well then, this should be fun, I haven't had to work hard in a while, did they meet the qualifications?"

"If your asking if they paid half up front, the answer is the obvious, of course, we wouldn't have taken the mission otherwise and its obviously important enough to were they agreed." nuzzling into his small pack at his side he pulled out large wallet and handed it over to me.

"Well looks like this mission will be worth my time after all," I said as I scanned through its contents.

"Do we need to stop in that small village near by, or did you already get a few things from the market?"

"No worries, what did ya think, I just sat on my butt and contemplated suicide all day? Geeze Katsu have a little faith, I made sure things were ready when you got back, I'll cook and while we eat we can go over the contents of the scroll and head out tomorrow morning depending on the mission," I said in exasperation.

"I only ask because… well-" he was cut off with his stomach growling in response.

"No worries I got you covered, your partner's always got your back, I got some nice slabs of beef and ramen," I said laughing as he blushed. "The man I bought them from was eager to finally have someone able to buy his products, although I think he jacked the prices up just because I said I'd buy it…" I muttered remembering the greedy gleam in his eyes as I pulled out my money for the purchase. Its not like I really needed the money to begin with, I had plenty, but it was the principle of it all that annoyed me.

"The people here were barely making it until recently, its common that they would try and make the most profit they could off of a foreigner, especially a ninja."

"I know. He's just lucky I understood the circumstances, if it were anyone else… they wouldn't have been so nice about it."

"Well things will settle down soon, I'm almost sure of it."

"Yes, your right. Enough talk about the village, lets just hurry and get to our hide out, this mission should take top priority right now, later after the mission, I'll send a letter to Konoha asking them for a favor, I'm sure they'll help smooth things over for the villagers, convince them to become one with their neighboring village to the east."

Katsu nodded his approval and ran with her through the tree's, staying camouflaged within the shadows and tree tops. Konoha wouldn't be able to help the villagers much, but they could speed up the process of joining the two villages and help convince some of the other rebellious citizens to go along with the transaction.

For now I need to stay focused on the mission. I'll worry about everything else later.

"Then lets get moving, the rains setting in fast. Tomorrow there's a possibility that we'll be leaving for this mission, we need to pack our weapons and go over the instructions."

~Yeah so I decided to start a Naruto series, I've been thinking about this one for a while. I've been thinking about possible beginnings for this one, possible comrades and such. Katsu her summoning beast was going to be a wolf, but it sounded a bit cliché, I know that the fox does to considering Naruto has the fox spirit in him, but what-ev.

Katsu: means victory.

Moriko: means forest child.

These meanings may come into play later.