Tsukushi wasn't a fast seamstress. It took her three weeks, two deerskins, and at least five rabbit pelts to make some clothes for Misa. Those weeks did more for Tsukushi than provide sewing time. They let her grow. At first, she'd always been looking over her shoulder, her fearful, closed heart pounding every time the younger girl left her sight. After about three days without incident, she stopped searching for an escape route and saw what was right in front of her.

She saw the eyes that widened whenever Tsukushi was doing something new, like curing meat or hemming a sleeve. She smelled the flowers that somehow found their way into the nest, most likely in the grip of a tough little hand. She felt the soft fur whenever she woke up to find that Misa had come to sleep beside her during the night. Then, when her teacher came one day while Misa was gone to tell her the mission was halfway complete, a pain blossomed in her heart whenever she thought about having to leave the little girl alone again. There was no one like Misa back at the village; everyone was so conniving and self-centered. How could she leave this pure-hearted, innocent little sister and go back to a world where everyone was out for themselves?

The worst thing was, she was going to break that little heart soon. The master was almost finished, and would be coming to get her within the week. Tsukushi would have to tell her sometime, but not now. She was just enjoying her new clothes, and Tsukushi wasn't going to spoil her fun.

Later that night, Misa curled up next to her and whispered. "What's wrong? You've been sad all day. Did I do something wrong?"

Tsukushi looked at the little face, full of concern. She answered "No. It's just that… I won't be around for much longer." Misa sat up and stared at her.

"You're leaving? You can't! You have to stay!"

"I can't stay. I only came here in the first place because my master had to do some spying in Konoha. He told me to wait here for him, to send a message if he was captured or take over the mission if he got hurt. But he's finished it now, which means he'll be expecting me to go back with him."

Misa buried her face in the other girl's chest. "NO! I love you, you have to stay."

"I can't. I want to, but I can't." She reached out a hand to stroke Misa's head. "Try to understand."

She jerked away when Tsukushi touched her. "I don't want to understand!" She turned and jumped. By the time Tsukushi made it to the edge of the dip, she had sprinted out of site. Maybe it was better this way. If Misa didn't come back before the master came to get her, she wouldn't have to say goodbye again. Tsukushi started packing up her things, which was hard since she couldn't see very well through the tears.

(Line Break)

Satetsu was pleased as he leapt through the trees away from Konoha Village. His espionage mission had been successful. Konoha wasn't going to be a problem any time soon, not with the damage they'd sustained from that attack over a year ago. They were still having trouble recovering. He hadn't been able to sight the new Jinchuriki, but he'd heard about the boy and was convinced he wasn't much of a threat either. He was a little worried about Tsukushi. How had she fared, these past few weeks?

He was jercked off his train of thought by the sound of sobbing. Satetsu might have been a Chuunin, and a tough one at that, but it didn't mean he was impervious to attacks of the heart. Those sobs tugged his heartstrings, and he followed the pull until he came upon a little girl. She was quite an unusual child, but that wasn't the first thing he noticed about her. It was her clothes. When Tsukushi had made doll clothes for donations to the village orphanage, they had often been the same simple style that the girl was wearing.

Now Satetsu had a good idea of what was going on. Tsukushi had gotten lonely, and taken the little girl in. She'd probably told this girl that she would have to be leaving soon, and that was why she was so upset. He decided to lend both of them a hand.

He jumped out of the tree and landed right in front of the girl. "Excuse me, but do you know where I might find my team member?" The little girl lowered her hands away from her face. "Her name is Tsukushi. I have to find her so she can come back with me to see her family."

The girl was starting to wipe her eyes. "Family?"

He smiled. "Yes. Tsukushi has lots of little brothers and sisters who are waiting for her to come back, especially the children who don't have moms and dads. She loves them all so much, so she has to hurry home. Can you help show me where she is?"

Misa was starting to feel better. She'd been afraid that she'd done something wrong. She was scared that she'd made Tsukushi mad, and that was her reason for leaving. But if she had to leave, if she had people waiting for her, then of course she had to go. She had to leave for the same reasons Misa had to stay, for someone they loved. She smiled at the man and said, "I'll show you where she is." Then she bounded up and off into the forest.

When they reached the dip, Tsukushi was packed and waiting. As soon as Misa leapt into the dip, she bulldozed into Misa and hugged her tight. "Go back quick. Your little brothers and sister miss you, just like I will." She looked up into the other girl's red rimmed eyes. "I'm glad I got to meet you. I hope I get to see you again soon." Then she reached into the big pocket on the front of her new shirt. "I was saving this to give to you as a thank you present." She held out a bracelet. It was woven out of strips of bark, with colorful feathers and flower petals. "I tried to make it pretty."

Tsukushi hugged the little girl even tighter, and whispered a thank you in her ear. "I'll never forget you, Misa. I hope I do see you again, and when I do, I'll bring all my little sisters with me." Satetsu took her arm and led her off the dip and into the forest.

Misa watched them leave. She'd done her crying for that day, and she wasn't going to start doing it again. But something the man had said was spinning in her head. He'd talked about a place for kids without parents. Maybe she could help. If she found kids in the woods that were all alone, like she'd been, she could help them get to these places. That way, she'd be helping possible little brothers and sisters the same way that Tsukushi helped hers, and the way the people in the village were helping Naruto. She decided to keep her eyes open during her hunts. With that thought, she took a final trip down the trunk to get some water, climbed back up, and fell asleep.

In another part of the woods, Tsukushi and Satetsu were also settling in for the night. Their meal of rations hadn't tasted nearly as good as Misa's food to Tsukushi. She'd been strangely quiet for most of that day, but Satetsu understood. Saying goodbye like that couldn't have been easy for her. But he felt that now was a good time to break the silence. Plus, he was curious about the girl he'd met, who Tsukushi apparently had spent the weeks with while he was gone. "That was a strange girl. She was almost an animal, but not quite."

Tsukushi answered him quietly. "You're right. She's the Human Animal." And so the legend began.

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