Kindred Spirits

Prologue - Doing the Right Thing

Hiruzen Sarutobi prided himself on being…somewhat of an excellent judge of character. It was a skill required as Hokage, and being able to read beneath the underneath was one of the basic principles of being a Shinobi.

But this particular case was baffling. He let out a low hum, scratching his chin as he glanced at the scroll spread out upon his desk.

"And you're sure this is real?" the Hokage murmured, his eyes scanning the document.

"Yes, sir."

"And what of the kunoichi who brought it here?"

"She's being held in the ANBU headquarters. She offered no resistance and even allowed chakra suppressors to be placed."

The Third Hokage leaned back into his seat, removing the pipe from his mouth and exhaled smoke. This was definitely a peculiar case. "I see."

He turned his attention back to the scroll. It was a mission scroll, ranked as an S-Class top priority, heavily sealed and distributed only to the most elite ninja. S-Class missions were always difficult and extremely dangerous, and nearly impossible to intercept, but if this scroll was true, then Konoha would have a very serious problem on its hands.

The mission was to infiltrate the Hyuga Clan Compound and abduct its young heiress, Hinata Hyuga.

After a moment's consideration, the aged Hokage stood from his seat, a hand on his pipe. He held up his hand, and a figure dropped from above. Clad in the dark colors of ANBU, the man in the dog-faced mask bowed, "Hokage-sama."

"I'm going to visit our guest," Sarutobi muttered, walking past the crouched ANBU, "Let them know I'm coming."

"Yes, sir." The ANBU vanished. The Hokage gave one last sigh, blowing out one final smoke, before tucking the pipe into the folds of his robes. He was getting too old for this.

They had given her one of the more welcoming holding cells in the ANBU headquarters. For one, it actually had a bed and chairs. There was a small table on the side, with an empty plate of food and a glass of water. Good. They'd been hospitable. She sat on the bed, legs crossed, eyes closed in meditation. As soon as he walked through the door, her ears twitched and she slowly opened her eyes; oddly shaped, they were narrow and pointed at the ends, with long eyelashes. She was young, no older than seventeen, but the way she held herself was a testament to years of experience on the battlefield. Dressed in a form-fitting black bodysuit, Sarutobi noticed the empty clasps and buckles around her waist and legs; a sword holster and kunai pouches were usually placed there. He supposed she allowed the ANBU to confiscate her weapons. His weary eyes opened ever so slightly as they glanced at her forehead.

A black headband was tied around it, hidden beneath blonde, side-swept bangs. It was blank.

"Hokage-sama," the kunoichi stood from her position and bowed.

"This is a strange sight," Sarutobi mused, taking a seat, "A ninja from Kumogakure, before our treaty is signed, bringing with her incriminating evidence of a wicked plot to take advantage of our peace." He intertwined his fingers, resting his elbows on the narrow armrests, "Tell me, what do you gain from revealing this plan to us…Yugito Nii?"

The blonde kunoichi raised her head, her eyes firm as they met the old Hokage's, "I know what they intend to do with her, and I refuse to let another child be used as a weapon."

The Hokage exhaled, "And what do you wish in return for this information?"

For a few moments, Yugito remained silent. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as though she was bracing herself for something terrible. "I only ask for asylum."

Sarutobi reclined in his seat, bringing his hands to his mouth in thought. If the mission to abduct Hinata Hyuga was true, then Yugito Nii had just betrayed her village. No doubt she'd be labelled as a missing-nin, and if she didn't seek asylum for protection within another Hidden Village, she'd be hunted by her own for the rest of her life. She might have just saved Konoha from a political mess, surely asylum was the least he could give in return. "I will consider your request. If what you have delivered to us is true, then there should be no problems."

She nodded slowly, "I understand."

"Very good. Until then, I will have to ask that you remain here for the time being."

The old Hokage stood up and turned to leave, his hands behind his back, when, "Hokage-sama."

"Hm?"

"Sir, I…" Yugito glanced at her hands, her brows furrowed, "You said you would consider granting me asylum, however, I think…this consideration would turn into a confirmation if…"

Sarutobi's eyebrow rose. "Speak. This room is sealed." All the ANBU holding cells were soundproof; unsightly things usually happened within them. There were two guards posted outside the door, but with the door closed, they wouldn't be able to hear a thing.

"With all due respect, I think you'll find it more beneficial to seriously consider it if it means adding a jinchuuriki that can control her tailed beast into your army."

Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets, kicking a small pebble across the nearly deserted road. He huffed, dropping his shoulders as he walked. It was late at night, and only a few people were out. He liked it like that; fewer people outside meant fewer people to stare. And yell. And call him names.

Yeah, he liked the night.

Something happened in the village recently, and everyone put up a big fuss. Something to do with one of the Big Families, he figured, if everyone was so riled up. He knew it was probably something bad, but for Naruto, it was a relief. It took their minds off him for once. But now, things were back to normal, and everyone was back to the name calling and the hatred.

He rubbed the back of his head, "I'm hungry, 'ttebayo…" the boy murmured under his breath. It was too late for Ichiraku's to be open, and no stores that were open would let him inside. Hokage-jiji usually asked his special ANBU ninja to go buy groceries for him, but with all the stuff that happened with the freaky family with the white eyes, he guessed Hokage-jiji was too busy and forgot. And the lady that was supposed to watch him and be his caregiver probably didn't even know he was gone. Normal people wouldn't let a four-year-old just walk around by himself, but Naruto wasn't really normal at all. At least, he didn't think so.

With a yawn, Naruto rubbed his eyes. Maybe he'd go to bed and ask Hokage-jiji to buy him more groceries tomorrow. Just as the boy took another step, he bumped right into another person. Instantly, he went into the defensive.

"Ack!" Stumbling back, Naruto blinked as he looked up at the figure in front of him. She was taller than he was, and she was wearing a loose blue kimono, tied around her waist with a dark blue sash. She had blonde hair, but it was a lot lighter and a lot longer than his, pulled back into a loose ponytail.

"A kid?" she muttered, turning around to face him. The weird woman was young, but she was very pretty. Naruto thought she looked nice, but he knew better. He raised his arms over his face. "Hey, what are you doing that for?"

Huh? That was weird. The boy lowered his hands slightly, "You're not going to hit me?"

The lady tilted her head in confusion, "Why would I do that? Who hits children for simple accidents?" Naruto didn't answer. "Come here, you look terrible." She crouched down in front of the boy, "What's your name?"

"N…Naruto…"

"Well, Naruto, it's nice to meet you, I'm–"

Naruto stepped back, his hands raised in a pitiful defensive position, "You don't have to pretend to be nice to me, you know." No one was ever nice to him. He didn't know why everyone was so mean, but they just were. Only Hokage-jiji and some of his super-secret ANBU ninja didn't hate him, and that was a total of four people. Anyone who acted nice meant that they were probably going to beat him up later. And Naruto knew better than to just randomly trust a stranger like that. Hokage-jiji always told him to be careful, after all.

The lady frowned. Her expression was weird. Why was she sad? "I'm not pretending. I don't look like a witch, do I?"

No one was ever nice to him, especially not pretty ladies. When he walked past, they gave him the worst looks. And mothers held their kids close and he could just barely hear them warning against going near him. Naruto never had friends, but he knew that would change as soon as he became Hokage. But why was this lady different?

"I'm new to the village. I'm sorry if I scared you."

Naruto's eyes grew wide. So that's why! But Naruto didn't let his hopes get too high. The other adults would probably tell her to stay away from him, and she'd hate him just as much as they did. "Oh, it's okay, neechan! Konoha's nice and peaceful, and you'll have lots of fun here!" He grinned widely, holding his hands behind his head. Well, she was nice right now, so he should be nice to her too, right?

She smiled, placing a hand on his head, "Yeah, I think I'll like it here."

The boy scratched his nose, "I gotta go home now, but it was nice to meet you, neechan! Welcome to Konoha, 'ttebayo!"

There was a scuffle, interrupting the pretty lady before she could say anything. Turning his head, Naruto's eyes grew wide as he took a step back, raising his hands again. He liked nights because everyone was asleep, but that was also when all the bad men came out. There were three of them, each one obviously drunk and stumbling. One of them had a bottle of sake, another had a pipe. The boy felt a lump in his throat, and his heart started to beat hard against his ribs.

"Oi, oi, look who's here," one of them slurred out, holding out an outstretched finger, pointing right at Naruto, "Hehe, we're gonna be heroes tonight, boys!"

The lady stood up, placing a hand on his shoulder. Her eyes narrowed, and Naruto thought he heard a quiet, angry hissing.

"Hey, sister," another one said, resting the pipe over his shoulder. He spit to the side, before grinning, "You look new 'round here, so we're gonna let you in on a little secret, eh?"

"What kind of secret?"

"You should get away from that brat."

"Oh? And why should I do that?" She gently pushed Naruto behind her, "Because I really have to wonder what kind of men would be so cowardly as to gang up on a small child."

Naruto's eyes grew wide, looking up at the woman. She was protecting him? Why was she doing that? The men weren't ninja, but they looked pretty big and tough. "N-Neechan, you don't have to…" The last thing he wanted was for someone else to get hurt because of him. And even if they beat him up, he always got better real quickly.

But she didn't have any of it. She turned her head, giving him a small, reassuring smile, "Don't worry. It's fine." She said, as her dark eyes slowly turned blue. Naruto was a bit too short to see it clearly, but he was pretty sure he saw a straight, black line running down her eye…it looked kinda like a weird cat. That was weird, was she like the freaky white eyed family too?

One of the men took another swig of the sake, emptying the bottle before wiping his mouth on the back of his sleeve, "Looks like she wants to protect that demon brat. Feh, let her do what she wants. We'll just get both of them!"

The lady bent her knees, entering a taijutsu stance. She held out one hand, and the other was thrown in front of Naruto, in a protective gesture, "A demon brat, huh? If there's one thing I hate the most in this world, it's people who pick on the weak!" Naruto's eyes grew wide. What was this feeling…? It was angry…very angry, and it was immensely suffocating to a small boy like him. And this feeling was wrapped around the lady like a cloak, oozing out from her like water. She was a ninja? Why wasn't she wearing a headband, or the vest, or all the other stuff that ninjas usually wore? And even if she was a ninja, she was just one against three really big and tough-looking people. She'd have a hard time!

They lunged towards them. And there was a cloud of smoke.

"That's enough."

Naruto blinked, coughing slightly as the smoke cleared. Two of Hokage-jiji's ANBU stood between the men and the lady, catching their punches and weapons before they could even swing them. The look of horror on the men's faces told Naruto that they were about to get it good.

"How odd," the nice lady muttered under her breath, easing out of her taijutsu stance. The feeling that surrounded her slowly went away too, and Naruto realized that he'd been holding his breath all this time. "ANBU, at this hour?"

"We were just passing by," one of the ANBU, in a dog mask, replied. Dog-san was Naruto's favorite. "We couldn't help but notice."

"Go home." The other added, wearing a mask that looked like a weird bird thing, as he released one of the thugs' wrists. His partner did the same, and in an instant, the drunk men sobered up and fled, dropping whatever they were holding onto the ground. Naruto smiled and giggled quietly. Hokage-jiji's ANBU were the best. "Hokage-sama wants to see you."

"Eh? Me? Why?" Naruto asked, before Bird-san shook his head.

"Not you. Her."

The lady blinked, "Who, me?"

"Yes. I will escort you."

She nodded, turning to Naruto, "Well, I guess I have to go. I'll see you soon, right?"

"Yeah!"

"And maybe you can show me around the village, too."

A flash of confusion shot through Naruto's face, before quickly nodding and grinning widely, "You bet, neechan! I'll take you to Ichiraku's!" The lady smiled again before turning to Bird-san with a nod. The two of them disappeared, with Bird-san vanishing with a puff of smoke and leaves, and the lady with a bolt of lightning. Lightning? He'd never seen anyone use lightning for that jutsu before!

Naruto felt a hand on his head. Looking up, he saw Dog-san looking down at him. It was dark, but there was just enough light from the dim streetlamps and the moon for him to see Dog-san's spiky silver hair behind his mask. He'd always wondered what was under that mask, but Hokage-jiji always said that they were important to ANBU. So he didn't try pulling it off. Didn't mean he stopped thinking about pulling it off. "Well, she was nice, wasn't she?"

The child nodded with a smile, "Yeah. I like her."

Dog-san chuckled, "Good. Then there won't be a problem."

"Eh?"

"Because she'll be taking care of you from now on."