Five years later

Yumi opened the door and stepped outside, scanning the outside carefully. She frowned as she took another step forward, expecting to see the two hidden somewhere. Suddenly, she fell through the ground, the earth sinking and breaking away beneath her weight. She yelled out and kicked her legs out wildly.

"Yoshi! Mako!"

She heard footsteps and looked up to see the two older men coming toward her. Their surprise was apparent as they rushed to her, falling to their knees.

Five years had done a lot in their appearance. Grey hairs were beginning to sprout from Yoshi's shaved head and he had grown a stubble. Mako must've gotten shorter but had become less cranky. Hell, he even smiled once.

Yumi glared up at the two. "Why the hell is there a hole in front of my house?!"

"Naruto and Kitsune have been trying to catch wild cats. They've been making holes everywhere," Yoshi nodded at one of the smugglers who fell straight through the ground, yelling out a short curse.

Yumi looked around for the two and growled in frustration. She missed the days of having to wake up in the middle of the night to just change their diaper or feed them. The days when they would simply sit on the floor and use their spit as ink to draw across the floor. Now they were older and more of a pain in the ass. Constantly waking up everyone in the slums and destroying something important that kept everything normal.

She growled as she pushed herself out of the hole, small stones of rock slicing into her skin.
Yoshi and Mako helped her out and dusted her off. She looked back down at the hole. There wasn't even a net below. How were Naruto and Kitsune expecting to catch anything when everything would just die from the impact?

"Where are they?" Yumi asked, tucking tangled hair behind her ear.

"Who knows? They disappear and just come back whenever they want," Mako picked his teeth with a long nail.

She walked around the hole and toward the edge of the slums, leading into the water boarded part of it. She looked out over the slums. It had always felt dark and gloomy on this side of the village. There weren't any shinobi around to keep people safe. It was their way of saying everyone could die and no one would really care.

That's what angered Yumi the most. How little the shinobi of Konoha seemed to care for the little people. It was like they needed to be paid to do something basic, like acting like a human.

Sucking in a deep breath, she turned to Yoshi and Mako. "Where are the others? I have some work that needs to be done."

O~O

Naruto peeked out from the small gap in the leaves, green goggles falling over his eyes. He pushed them up in annoyance and continued to scan the ground. He scratched the back of his neck, his small fingers running over small bumps. Another rash. Just his luck. He wasn't sure how he got them but they were becoming a habit now.

Kitsune shuffled up beside him, her greasy, shoulder length, crimson hair remaining stiff in place. Dirt smudges covered her tanned skin and over the oversized shirt and shorts she wore. She sniffled and looked around. "See anything?"

Naruto shook his head, swinging his legs over the side of the branch. "Nope. Nothing yet."

The two sat in a comfortable silence, merely watching the boardwalk below. Usually they just walked around aimlessly and explored their surroundings. But they were four years old turning five in three months, they were getting older and wanted to explore outside of the slum walls. Yumi had always spoken of the village as a bad place. A place where no one would want them and only reject them. But they couldn't be sure. They had grown up in the confines of the slums for so long, they weren't sure if they were meant to live there for the rest of their lives.

Naruto's ears twitched and he looked down at the boardwalk. Something black lingered in the shadows, yellow eyes piercing the shroud of darkness like a beacon.

Naruto tapped Kitsune and pointed toward the creature. She grinned a toothy grin, revealing her missing tooth on the top row. She pulled down her own set of green goggles over her eyes and got down on all fours like a cat. Naruto crawled off to the side and burrowed into the hollow of the tree, rummaging around for a fish net.

Kitsune looked over at Naruto, her eyes sparkling underneath the dirty lens. Finally, he pulled out a fish net he had found near the bottom of their rubbish. He grinned at his sister and she nodded, pulling her body back. She took a deep breath, the muscles in her arm visibly relaxing. Then... she pounced.

She lurched from the tree in lightning speed, a blur to the eye of a normal person. All you could see was a flash of red and then the loud screeching of a cat being wrestled. Naruto jumped down from the tree, spotting his sister's bright hair immediately and rushed to her. She held up the shrieking cat, her face and arms full of scratches. He wrapped the cat up in a fish net, tying it firmly into a knot at the top.

The cat still shrieked and clawed, trying desperately to scratch even one of their faces. Kitsune reached out and stroked its head.

"There, there, kitty. If you wiggle a little less, we might not eat you," Kitsune gripped its ears tightly and grinned. The cat immediately went still and glared at the red haired Uzumaki.

"Gross. When did we start eating cats?" Naruto questioned, his nose wrinkling at the thought.

"Shhh, it's a secret. Cats know when to shut up if you say the right stuff."

"Ooh, now I get it," Naruto smiled, showing off his missing bottom tooth. The two walked through the water slums, nearly falling through broken boards as they went. Naruto had nearly walked off the edge of the boardwalk but was lucky a passing stranger grabbed his arm and hoisted him back up.

"I'm thankful that you saved Nii-san's life!" Kitsune called, waving her hand frantically.

"And I'm thankful you saved Imōto-chan's life... wait, you're not wet... Never mind!" Naruto yelled off after the stranger who simply looked back at the two and laughed.

Naruto squeezed the remainder of the water out of his shirt, scrunching his face up as he did so. He looked over to Kitsune who was looking along the edge of the deck. He dropped the fish net on the ground beside him, the cat clawing again now that it knew it was land. Naruto dropped down to his knees, looking down at the water.

The water was murky and an olive-dark blue colour that just didn't look right. No fish were ever found in the lake and if there were, it was probably just the carcass of one.

A gold gleam caught Naruto's eye. He looked off to his right and spotted something floating in the water, as big as Mako's head and shining gold. He pointed toward it. "What's that?"

Kitsune looked up at her brother then down at the gold lump. Her thin eyebrows furrowed together causing a small crease between her eyebrows. She had to lie flat against the boards just to get a better look. Between the two of them, Kitsune was the more logical and the most reasonable.

Her features relaxed as she got an idea of what it was. "Whale poop. Good eye, Naruto, good eye."

"What's whale poop doing here? We don't have any big fish here, do we?" Naruto stared into the water for even a flash of something alive. But as usual, there was nothing. They used to believe a fish monster lived at the bottom and if you were caught late at night in the water, you'd be eaten. Of course when they told Yumi this theory, she left a massive bruise on each of their heads and told them to "clear the shit out of their pea-size brains with a stick." Naruto had tried to do it but Yoshi had stopped him just before the pointy part touched the hollow of the ear.

He didn't get why she'd tell them to do that then stop them just before. Sometimes Yumi confused them with what she said.

"Maybe someone threw it in. You know it's like a poop factory. People poop, animal poop, mermaid poop-"

"Mermaids can't poop," Naruto argued.

"Yes they can. If they're half fish, and fish poop through a tiny hole by their flappy thing, then that means mermaids have a tiny hole they poop out of too."

"But you need two holes. One for pooping, and one for peeing."

"I think mermaids do all of that out of one hole..."

"Gross!"

Kitsune turned back to the golden lump and frowned. The only reason she thought it was poop was because of the smell. It wasn't that potent that she'd start crying like she did when Yoshi left the toilet but it was pretty bad. She climbed over the edge of the deck and slid down the wooden pole.

"Imōto-chan, I don't think that's safe," Naruto said nervously as he watched his sister use her foot to reach out to the lump.

Her small leg reached out as far it could go. The skin around her bony leg stretched out and the bone beneath could be seen. The outline of every bone in her leg became visible, even the empty spaces where her bones curved inward.

The tip of her shoe touched the lump. Instead of bringing it closer, the lump swayed off further. Kitsune growled and looked down her foot which was getting wet from the water below.

Goosebumps travelled up her skin and she hissed angrily. She hated water. Which was one of the reasons her hair was always dirty. She didn't like to be touched by people and she sure as hell hated being dunked into water. Sucking in a deep breath, Kitsune lunged out for the lump. Her frail body collided on the side of a pole and she howled in pain.

"Kitsune!"

She winced as she peeked an eye open and looked down her side. Her right arm was wrapped around the pole that kept the boardwalk up, and her left arm was wrapped around the lump. A grin spread across her lips but she groaned as a wave of pain flushed over her. That was the second time today she lunged out for something. She picked the lump up with one arm and tossed it onto the boardwalk. Its massive exterior thumped on the wooden boards causing it to rattle. Kitsune quickly climbed up the pole using her long nails as leverage to move faster.

She heaved her small body onto the boardwalk and rolled onto her back, sucking in lungs full of air. For some reason she always felt out of breath after being near water and she wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball near a fire and regain body heat. Unfortunately, Yumi's one policy on living at the den was that she didn't want them stinking up the place, which meant washing every morning and every night.

Kitsune shuddered at the thought. She was becoming a typical child. Hating bath times and everything that involved it.

She sat up and turned to Naruto. In his lap was the gold lump. Specks of mouldy green peeked out from its covering. Her eyes widened as she stared. "What kind of poop is this?"

"Maybe the whale ate a treasure chest before it pooped?" Naruto suggested, poking the suspicious lump.

Kitsune crossed her legs and propped her head into her hands. She tried to think of all the stuff she'd see in Yumi's "secret" room. There had been a lot of gold but nothing that was big, lumpy, and smelled like multiple rats and roaches died. Naruto leaned his head down and licked it once. Kitsune's head shot up and she glared at her brother. His eyes looked to her and he smiled, tongue still lolling out of his mouth.

"What are you doing? You don't know where that's been!" Kitsune exclaimed, snatching it away from him.

"Just testing it!"

"No one licks poop unless they hate themselves. And if you hate yourself, that means you hate me, and that means I hate me, and that means I hate you too. So don't lick the poop!" Kitsune warned, holding the lump close to her.

Naruto stared at her in pure confusion, his eyebrow twitching as he tried to understand what she had said. "I got lost after you said 'I hate me' and I don't know which me you were talking about."

"How can you get lost if you keep finding yourself?" Kitsune asked as she stood up, cradling the lump.

Naruto's eyebrow rose as he thought it over and he laughed twice. He pushed himself up and got onto his feet. The two began walking through the water slums, going through the path they knew was safe and wouldn't break.

They knew their way around and the people already knew them. Despite what many said, the slums were remarkably safe if you knew the people there. The drug dealers were the kindest people Kitsune had ever seen. They gave her sweets when she passed by with Naruto. And she could trust that they wouldn't try to kidnap her.

Sometimes they would grow quiet when they walked past, but it was probably just because they were talking about stuff not suitable for them.

The twins ran through the slums, yelling and laughing as they sprinted. People would stop and watch the two curiously, the same thought running through their heads. How could two kids be so happy to live here? To them it was a pure hell they wished would end but to these kids... it was like heaven on Earth.

They reached the stable ground of the slums and raced toward the Den. Kitsune found it difficult carrying a lump in her shirt and it didn't help Naruto was already faster than her. Part of her wanted to dump the lump behind and chase after him but she knew they would just go back for it later.

She turned a corner and skidded across the ground from the sudden turn. Dirt shot into her mouth by the mouthful. She spat out the dirt shards, mentally screaming at the unpleasant taste. She didn't want to know if there had been more than dirt in that mouthful.

Naruto tapped the wall to the Den first. He grinned at his sister and stuck out his tongue. "Fourteen wins, five loses. You gotta a long way to go."

"Go rot like a fish cake," Kitsune mumbled. Her stomach growled at the mention of food and her cheeks flushed as red as her hair.

Naruto rose an eyebrow and grinned. "Didn't you eat before we left this morning?"

"I'm sure I did. It's like I'm feeding someone else who eats all my food before I can."

They walked up to the door and tried to push the door open. Yoshi left the door open slightly so they could just push it instead of having to knock. Now was different, for some reason.

Kitsune got down onto her knees and let the lump lie beneath her stomach. Naruto climbed on top of her back and twisted the handle. He pushed it open and toppled face first as Kitsune stood up. She held the lump close to her and looked down at her brother. "Oops. Sorry."

He growled and stood up, dusting off his knees. They walked in and Kitsune kicked the door closed. She turned around and noticed how quiet the Den was. The smugglers always made noise. Sometimes just because they were drunk, sometimes just because they were talking very loudly.

"Yumi-san! Yoshi-kun! Mako-san!" Kitsune called. She held the lump in both hands and waddled down the hallway with it.

Naruto peeked into all the rooms but spotted nothing. It wasn't unusual, just kind of creepy.

They heard footsteps and looked up to see Mako moving through the halls. He stopped mid-step and stared at them, then down at the lump in Kitsune's hands, then back up at them. "When did you guys get back and why are you..." he trailed off as he looked down at their feet. A trail of muddy footprints followed from the door and Mako swore he heard a frog croak in one of their pockets. "What did I say about taking your shoes off before you come inside? I just mopped!"

"Just do it over again. What's the big deal?" Naruto shrugged. Kitsune nodded in agreement and walked past Mako, leaving another trail of footprints.

He silently fumed as he watched them walk into the kitchen. As much as they had grown on them, he always cleaned up after them like it was his job to clean up their mess. He turned around and went back to the storage closest to fetch the mop and bucket.

Yumi sat at the counter busy working through boxes filled with packets of white powder. She briefly glanced up at the two then back down at her work. Her hands stopped over a packet and her head shot up to stare at them. "What the hell is that?"

Naruto pointed at the lump. "This?"

"Whale poop," Kitsune answered simply.

Yumi stood up from her seat and circled around the table toward them. She crouched down and frowned at the golden coloured lump. Kitsune grinned wildly. "We also have a cat!"

"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed. His expression quickly fell. "Uh-oh..."

"What?"

"I forgot the bag."

"How do you forget a bag with a cat in it? It was screaming and everything!"

"So was I! That cat could've been sick with something that would kill me!"

Yumi continued to stare at the lump as the twins argued. She had heard of ambergris before but hadn't really seen it. Most wealthy men went out to sea and captured an entire whale to get it. To see it in the flesh. It kind of made her see ryo signs everywhere. Ambergris was a wax-like substance that originated as a secretion in the intestines of sperm whales and was often used in perfume manufacture.

Honestly, Yumi didn't want to walk around smelling like sperm whale shit and she sure as hell didn't want Naruto and Kitsune smelling like it either. Knowing Naruto, he'd probably eat it all by morning.

Yumi straightened up and smiled at the two. "Looks like you found yourself a gold mine right there."

"Huh?" the twins said in unison.

"That right there, my two shit-for-brainers, is ambergris. An expensive mineral that comes from sperm whale. More specifically, its shit."

"Told you!" Kitsune exclaimed, dropping the ambergris.

"You said it was mermaid poop, not whale poop."

"Still, I said it was poop. So I'm right and you were wrong, Nii-san."

Yumi picked up the ambergris and examined it. She chipped a piece off and looked at it closely. It had a candle-like texture to it and had the faint odour of whale feces mixed in with the unpleasant scent of the murky slums. She placed it down on the table where the light from the window casted over the object.

If it had come from anyone else, Yumi would've taken it and split it 70/30. But the twins didn't understand what kind of money could come from this. They'd probably leave it in their room until it would stink up the place, throw it out the window like they did with Mako's scarf after they accidentally dropped into the toilet after Naruto finished using it as toilet paper.

In his defence, he ran out of toilet paper and Kitsune didn't want to go fetch any.

"I can't believe I'm going to do this but..." Yumi placed her hands on her hips and looked at the twins seriously. "I'm going to trust that you use this ambergris responsibly so I won't take it away from you. I won't come in the middle of the night to steal it or sell it without your permission. I will let you two have something of your own for now."

"Really? Cool!" Kitsune cheered and bounced on the spot, her hair bobbing with the movement of her head.

"Yumi-san, we're four. We spit out vegetables and hide them around the house," Naruto answered, with an as-a-matter-a-fact tone.

"Nii-san, that was supposed to be a secret!" Kitsune hissed. She quickly ducked her head down so only Naruto could see her eyes.

"I couldn't hold it in any longer!" Naruto whispered back, grinning at his sister.

Yumi glared at the two and a realization dawned on her as she knew why it smelt like compost under the couch. Rotten compost.

"Just go to your room, you dumbasses, before I send you there myself!" Yumi yelled.

Naruto and Kitsune yelled and sprinted out of the kitchen, leaving a cloud of dust behind. There was screeching noise and Naruto rushed back inside, took the ambergris off the table, and rushed out again, yelling as he went. Yumi felt her features soften and smiled.

She had thought that having the twins would make her cranky and angry, but she actually enjoyed having them around. They put a certain life to the Den that money just couldn't do no matter how much she had. Everyone else seemed to like them too, despite knowing what lurked within them.

Five years had gone by and still no sign of the Bijū awakening. Yumi hoped it would stay that way. She sat back down and looked down at the mud trail and dust forming in a pile in front of the table. She went back to counting medicine packs.

"Mako! Get your lazy ass in here and clean up this mess, you dumbfuck! Or else I use your decapitated head as the new mop! That one's getting old anyway."