The Leaf Village and a new beginning
"I wonder what this forest is called," Kitten thought aloud.
"You'll never find out, you brat," answered a cold and cruel voice from behind.
Kitten turned, surprised that they had caught up to her so quickly. She had left the only home she had ever known a week ago and was on the run. If they caught her, she would die, and if she returned she would be killed, so the only option left was to run as far away as possible.
She started running again. She silently asked herself, when will this end?
The Black Ops were closing in fast. Her earrings started to glow a bright blood red color. The shinobi saw this and were at first hesitant to continue, but when the glow subsided they began again.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Black Ops are surrounded by Sand! Kitten's earrings shined brightly as she used a Sand manipulation Jutsu.
"SAND COFFIN!" she cried.
"Impossible! When did she learn this Jutsu? It's forbidden for anyone below Jounin rank to even know this!" cried one of the Black Ops.
"SAND BURIAL!" Kitten shouted as she calmly crushed them with sand.
They were the fifth ones to feel her Sand Sarcophagus combination. She sighed, knowing that others would soon be arriving to replace the fools she killed.
She kept walking never looking back. She had no way of knowing that she was in the territory of another Hidden Shinobi Village. Had she known, she would have been more cautious and remove her Sand Village headband. A small two-tailed cat silently watched her through the leaves.
An hour later, Kitten decided to take a break near a small stream. She was so tired from using the sand Jutsu that she never sensed that the two-tailed cat had been following her the whole time. She rested for about fifteen minutes, and then continued walking.
Meanwhile, back in Sunakagure…
"She's killed another Blacks Ops group! That's the fifth one this week!" roared the Kazekage.
"We know. However, there is something very odd about their deaths," the Kazekage's advisor replied.
"Something odd you say," mocked the Kazekage, "You mean something more absurd than 10 grown men and women being killed with such ease by a seven-year-old!"
"Hai. Every time we find the bodies, there are small traces of Sand on them or in their clothes. Normally, we would ignore this, but we keep finding them farther and farther from the desert. I can't find any reason for there to be sand on every corpse."
"What do you mean, SAND? How could she be able to use Jutsus that are forbidden to anyone below Jounin rank!"
"We have been unable to determine how she is doing it. What we do know, however, is that she has access to a vast amount of sand. Also, every corpse we find has little or no blood left in them."
"Wait, did you say the blood was removed from every body? That can't be… It's impossible…" the Kazekage said in complete shock.
Kitten stopped to rest for the night under a tree with many leaves. Shortly after she fell asleep for the night, a small cat-like figure approached her. Kitten shifted in her sleep. The cat-like figure was amused. Most people couldn't sense her approach until it was too late. This girl must be exceptionally good to sense her presence.
Kitten thought she was still dreaming at first. But her eyes opened wide when she realized that this wasn't a dream, it was real! Before her sat a two-tailed cat-like creature who happened to be watching her with interest.
"Awake already? You are better than I suspected if you can tell dreams from reality so quickly after waking up," laughed the creature.
"Who are you? And how can you talk using the human tongue?" said Kitten startled.
"My name is Luna. And what is yours, little one?"
"Um, my name is Artimus, but most people call me Kitten," she replied.
"Kitten? Are you telling me the truth or are you joking?"
"Nope, I'm not kidding. My nickname is Kitten. Nice to meet you."
"Sorry if I seem a bit rude, but that nickname took me quite by surprise!"
"Um, I don't mean to be rude, Luna, but why are you here?"
"I saw how you disposed of those bakas and how calm you were at the task. I approached you last night and amazingly you actually responded when I came near. Most people never sense me coming."
"What's the name of this forest? And where exactly am I?"
"The forest's name is the Kitsune woods. You, my dear are in the Nation of Fire, home to the Hidden Leaf village."
"HIDDEN LEAF! Yikes, I had no idea I was that close to a village! I hope they don't come after me."
Luna looked at her in surprise. That wasn't the reaction she had expected at all. Why was the girl so afraid of the Village? Those questions would have to wait, she realized, as she sensed others with the same cold aura as yesterday were coming in their direction.
"I think we had better get moving."
"Eh? What makes you say that child?"
"Because the fools who were chasing me have returned."
'This girl…who is she? She sensed those people before I did.' Luna thought.
The two unlikely companions walked together silently. An hour after Kitten woke up, the Black Ops struck! They fought and at some point, Kitten hit her head very hard and ended up with a bad case of amnesia. Luna realized that the girl would unable to fight so she transformed and finished them off quickly.
While the child was unconscious Luna removed the Sand headband and hid it for safe keeping. The two companions walked and ended up at the gate when the girl collapsed.
The shinobi saw this and immediately rushed her to the hospital. The Village leader personally came to see her. When he realized she had amnesia, he welcomed her to the Hidden Leaf village. When he told her of the ninja Academy, he asked her if she would be interested.
After all was said and done, the girl had a new home and a new life. But she still needed a name. The Hokage saw how close she was to her cat and decided to name her Neko-Chan.