A/N: Please take note of the following:

"Humans talking"

'Thinking'

"Animals talking"

Here are the meanings of the Japanese words:

Rin- companion

Bisuto- east

Yajuu- beast, monster, wild animal

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but the plot and OC's of this story IS MINE!

Chapter 1

Six years later

We lay in the shadows of the underbrush, waiting. We knew that deer resided in this forest; we had heard their calls ever since we arrived the previous month and now, finally, we have found a place where we could see them. We could tell that this was a frequented spot by the smell. It was really just a small clearing, but it served our purpose.

I had never actually seen a live deer, so I decided to use this opportunity to meet one. As with all animals I had to see how it moved before I could change into it. Plus I need practice before I could completely master any new animal. It was vital for me to be able to turn into a deer since we were near civilization and they were obviously an indigenous species. Whereas wolves were not. I was afraid that some human might see us and think we were a threat. It has happened before and the resulting hunt had left me with a limp for two weeks. 'I still don't know how that farmer had managed to sneak up on me.'

My thoughts were interrupted by a rustling sound and I immediately snapped to attention. Then a deer peered out from among the trees to our left. He was hesitant at first, but after sniffing the air he came out completely. He was rather big in accordance to what I had expected and he had magnificent antlers that took my breath away. I was a little intimidated by him, but then I remembered why I was there in the fist place. After taking a deep breath to calm my nerves I stood up and slowly stepped into the clearing.

He's head snapped up from where he was grazing, ears swivelling around, "Who's there?" I walked into the open and saw his body tense. Then I took another step closer and just as I was about to speak, he bolted while shouting, "PREDATOR!"

I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. It's been at least ten minutes now and he hasn't slowed down. He was going to get away and all because of my impatience. Though, in hind sight, it probably wasn't very smart to approach a deer as a wolf. Unfortunately I didn't have an herbivore which is why I had approached the deer in the first place.

Then it happened; it was faint, but the deer was starting to show signs of fatigue. I gave Rin, the wolf running a few feet from me, a signal and he ran ahead while I herded the deer to our designated ambush spot. I was glad to have had the foresight of setting it up for this exact situation.

We reached the slight depression. It was really just a dip in the forest floor with a rock formation looking over it on one side. In his haste the deer didn't notice the crouched form on the top. The wolf jumped when the deer was beneath him. He tried to buck but instead he's legs gave way from the added weight and he went down. "No, no, no," the deer tried to get up but he just no longer had the strength, "please make it quick." I changed back and crouched by his head. "Don't worry friend, we mean you no harm." He lifted his head to get a better view of me, "then why did you chase me?" I offered him my hand for a sniff, "I wanted to talk with you, but I wasn't sure on how you'd react to a human." He was cautious of Rin when he stood up, but at least he didn't run away again.

"That is understandable. What about him?" he eyed Rin warily. I laughed, "Don't worry, he's with me." He relaxed, but stood so that I was between him and the wolf. Sensing his discomfort I asked Rin to leave. "So what is it that you wish of me little one?"

I immediately launched into an explanation of my ability and the reason why I wanted to be able to turn into a deer. He accepted and offered me a place in the herd. "Yes thank you very much. I'd love to stay with the rest of the herd." He nodded, "Very well then. I should warn you that there are humans who take care of us." This interested me, "What do you mean?" "They feed us when there isn't enough food and heal us when we're sick. They also gather our antlers once we shed them." This had me thinking, 'maybe there are more people like my family."

When Rin showed up I knew it was time to leave, "I'm sorry I have to go now. A human is coming. I'll come to the herd later tonight." With that I quickly turned into a squirrel and took to the trees, going after Rin.

It's been another month now. The deer accepted me into the herd pretty easily and were helpful with my learning. One of the does especially coddled me. I was later told that it was because her fawn was stillborn. I managed the form eventually and after two weeks I could run and leap around just as easily as any of them.

The mornings went by differently. There was some sort of school in the village and I would disguise myself as a woodpecker to hide in one of the trees by the windows. Mostly they stayed inside, but at other times the instructors would take classes outside for training. The children would practice in throwing weapons or performing a martial arts sequence. I always tried to remember the moves then repeat them later in the forest. I found the basic ones which the smallest children were doing the easiest. I think the reason for this was because it was similar to what my father was teaching me before he died. The moves of the bigger children, however, were difficult. It was during another failed attempt to keep my balance that Rin decided to check up on me. He chuckled when he saw me fall again, "I can't see why you are so set on learning this. It's not like you're going to join them. Besides isn't it about time for us to move on? You've already mastered the deer." Deciding to take a rest, I walked over to a nearby stream for a drink.

"I know you're concerned Rin, but I have a valid reason for staying. These people have the same weapons as the men who killed my family. If I can learn their fighting style I'll be able to protect myself from them if the need arises. You know that I can't stay in my animal forms all the time, not unless I eat their food for energy. Sure I don't mind the pellets that boy's been giving the deer these past few days, but I can't keep going with them. I think he's starting to suspect something. Yesterday it was a man who brought the food." Rin nodded, "Okay, but-" he was interrupted by a frantic doe crashing out of the wood. "Bisuto! Rin! You have to get out of here! There are three men walking around in the forest," she looked at me specifically, "I think they're searching for you."

I cursed under my breath, 'I don't have enough energy to change right now. I'll have to make a run for it as I am.' Out loud I said, "Thank you for everything you've done for me." After that we ran down wind as fast as I could go in my current state. I was still tired and sore from practicing. I knew that I was starting to slow, but I couldn't stop. After a while Rin informed me that he could smell them on the wind. "I'm going back to stall them." I almost tripped, "What? No, they'll kill you!" Unwanted memories of a dark tunnel and dead bodies flashed through my mind. I grabbed him around the neck, "Please Rin, don't go. I don't want to lose another brother." "I'm sorry Bisuto," he licked my cheek, "I promised mother I'd protect you." Slipping out of my embrace he ran towards the humans. I nearly started to cry, but there was a sudden howl. Hearing Rin's howl gave me the strength to carry on and so I ran in the opposite direction for all that I was worth.

I knew the chances of Bisuto going on without me were slim so I gave a quick howl to encourage him. Then I heard the voices of the humans. "Did you guys hear that…What was it Shikaku…Don't know, most likely some sort of animal." Then they came into view. Two of the men seemed to be in good shape. The first had blond hair tied up in a long tail, it seemed like he was focusing on something. While the second had blackish-brown hair in a spiky tail. He had an incredibly lazy look on his face, like he'd rather be some where else. The last member of their pack surprised me; he was fat with strange marks on his face and wild red hair. To top it all of he was clearly more interested in the food he was eating than what was going on around him. The spiky tailed one suddenly spoke, "Man what a drag. First we have to find this new deer and now there's some animal running wild in the forest. Yo Inoichi you got anything yet?" He looked over at the blond. "I think so. Just after those deer came looking for food the two chakra signatures split up. One is still headed in the same direction as before, but the other weaker one is close…" I didn't bother to keep listening, I was confused. 'How can this be? We were moving downwind so they're not supposed to be able to follow us. How can he now that I'm here if I'm hidden?' They were clearly more alert than they seemed.

Coming to a decision I stepped into their path, "What do you want with Bisuto? Why are you looking for him?" It was more of a demand than a question. They stopped to look at me. 'Good at least I have their attention.' Then I realized that they weren't simply looking, but studying. "I bet that this dog is what made that howl," this came from the blond. The fat one answered, "It sure doesn't look like any dog I've ever seen. You reckon it's a new Inuzuka hound breed Shikaku?" "Hm, could be, but wouldn't we have heard about it if one of their dogs ran away? I'm thinking that it belongs to the person we're after."

I gave them a warning growl, "You're going to have to go through me if you want to reach Bisuto and how dare you call me a mere dog!" Their stances became more aggressive and the lazy one said, "Careful guys we don't know what it's capable of. Choza, Inoichi keep it busy while I try to get it with my jutsu." The others nodded then came at me from both sides. I quickly turned and ran. My plan was to lead them on a wild goose chase away from Bisuto. Then once they were wary I would attack. I knew from experience with Bisuto that humans didn't have the same endurance level as wolves. Something shiny flew over head and landed with a thunk a few paces before me. It looked like a strange knife. I tried to go around, but more landed beside it, blocking my path. I backed away a bit, planning to jump over them instead. Something hard hit my left side. It didn't really hurt, but came as a surprise. Turning around to investigate I found a wooden ball with a piece of what Bisuto calls paper stuck to it. The thing suddenly exploded into a blinding white light. Now I was really confused; I couldn't see and in my haste to get away I ran into a tree and yelped in surprise. My vision started coming back, but for some reason I couldn't move. When I could see again the fat man was busy tying my paws together. Now matter how hard I tried, I wasn't able to move my head in order to bite him. I was starting to get scared now. Some force was keeping me down. As the man moved to my back legs I saw a black line stretching from me and following it with my eyes, I found it leading straight to the lazy one. He stood in an odd way with his hands forming a strange sign. It looked like he was trying to copy Bisuto's hand sign for changing, though he was doing it wrong. The blond man crouched by my head and gently bound my muzzle as well. I was completely at their mercy now. Finding I could move again I managed to roll over into the submissive position and gave a quiet whine to try to appeal to them. The lazy one held his hand out for me to smell while he stroked the top of my head, "Don't worry big guy, we're not going to hurt you. Choza do you mind carrying him back to the house? Me and Inoichi will be back shortly with his master." The fat man carefully picked me up and started walking away. I tried to struggle, but my focus was slipping and pretty soon sleep engulfed me.

I couldn't believe that I was reliving the worst experience of my life. I was running away while someone else was protecting me, again. I was no better than a newborn pup that can't do anything for itself.

Not able to run anymore, I decided to stop. If I'm going to have to fight, I might as well regain a bit of my strength first.

As if on queue a blond man came from the bushes in front of me. "Hey you're just a kid! Heh, here I thought we were going to face a full fledged ninja. I gotta hand it to you, that dog of yours surprised us." I charged at him enraged, "What did you do to Rin? Where is he?" The next thing I knew I was on the ground with him sitting on me. He was holding my arms behind me, "Relax, your friend's fine. We put him to sleep before any harm could be done. Now, are you going to come quietly or do we have to put you to sleep as well?" I stopped struggling. It would be better to learn what I could about this village rather than be unconscious. 'I just hope that Rin is all right…where ever he is.'

A/N: I hope you like it. Please review!