This is all time one of my best chapters ever... I am so far beyond proud of this I cannot stand it! Please give me your opinion on this but be kind! I am trying hard.

"What is it Mio?" Naomi groaned, the soft bunting of her sweet cat awoke her from her deep reading and training fueled sleep. "It's late out, what are you doing?"

Her cat meowed at her, loud and desperate before hissing and darting away, leaving a concerned Naomi to stand and rush after her. Mio never acted like that, she was a sweet kitty who had been easily socialized. She had hissed at her only in the first month she had her after taking her from a sickly stray queen, while she was being socialized. For her to act like this was beyond strange. Was someone breaking into her apartment? Was there a fire, or some kind of emergency?

Not bothering to dress, Naomi hurried over to her where her cat was, sitting at her window hissing low and soft, her fur bristling with a wrath she wasn't sure her cat had in her. Her tiny orange body a mass of fur and hate, looking out the window. When Naomi got closer, the cat turned towards her for a moment before nodding and clawing at the window.

"Is there something out there?"

"MEOOOOOOWWWWW!" Long and harsh, Mio's meow conveyed a shocking amount of energy and emotion.

Naomi didn't question why she was trusting her cat so much, something wasn't right. As fast as she could, she grabbed her kunai and shuriken pouch, latching it on as well as her sandals. Grabbing her cat close, she opened her door and shot off... only for Mio to wiggle out of her arms and sprint away, leaping literally across the roofs at incredible speeds.

Eyes wide, Naomi followed her beloved pet, following her faster and faster until they reached the edge of the forest. Her cat leaped down, somehow not hurting herself in the process, and bolted into the forest with Naomi at her back. The further she got in, she more something felt wrong. What was Mio up to, what was going on... she had no freaking idea but damn it she was going to find out.

Eventually they reached a clearing filled with an exhausted Naruto holding onto a massive scroll, a wounded Iruka with a massive Shuriken in his back, and a cackling Mizuki looking maliciously at them all. Mio was strafing behind him, fur up and hate in her entire body.

'Naruto, what did you do... what is this...why do you have that scroll and why is Mizuki attacking you?' One thing was clear however, and it was that Mizuki was the problem. He had thrown the Shuriken and he was the one radiating bloodlust that even she could feel from her spot a dozen yards away.

The wind blew softly from her place by the tree and the words they spoke began to ooze into her ears.

Iruka's voice was filled with immense pain as he managed to struggle out. Stop lying, Mizuki. Don't let him trick you, Naruto."

Mizuki just laughed, the sound so filled with hate that it was almost painful and scary to listen to. "Oh, I'll tell you who's really lying."

"No, Mizuki!"

"They've been lying to you your whole life, Naruto. Since the decree 12 years ago." Naomi froze, her hands stilling by her kunai pouch as she considered his words.

'Is this why everyone seems to loathe Naruto so much, so utterly,... it can't just be his pranks, some of them are actually funny,... I am hearing something I wasn't meant to hear.' Curiosity stilled her hands and she knew that she had to listen.

Even if she shouldn't.

Naruto, oddly quiet, barked out. " What decree?"

Mizuki's face was filled with malice as he said. "Everyone knows except you. Iruka's trying to hide it from you now. He'd do anything to shut me up."

"What is this decree? Why does everyone else know about it?"

"Don't tell him! It's forbidden!" Somehow Iruka, who was bleeding from his painful wound, managed to call out.

Mizuki didn't seem to care. " The decree is, no one can tell you the Nine-Tailed Fox is inside you! (Naruto stares, shocked) The Fox spirit that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village has taken over your body. You are the Nine-Tailed Fox!"

Anger exploded in Naomi's heart, looking at Naruto with hatred that left her mouth filled with the taste of blood. 'My parents... they... you... he... " With more hate then she realized she had, she looked at Naruto with the urge to stab him... only to see his face, the shock and fear on it... and her heart changed. "no... no that's not how sealing works.' Somehow she managed to calm herself just enough to focus on Naruto, who shook with horror and fear. That was the face of a monster, that was the face of an idiot, a prankster, a fool...

Mio launched herself at Mizuki, clawing hatefully at his shoulders and neck, making the man scream out in pain and shock, arms reaching around to grab her cat and tear her off. " What the hell?" He bellowed as blood sprouted from his back and neck. Eventually he managed to actually to get a hold of her thrashing cat, throwing her poor kitty away with as much force as he was able to, Naomi jumped into action.

As fast as she could, she substituted with her beloved cat, using the shock it brought to slam her foot into Mizuki's face with as much force as she able to. The entire clearing filled with a loud crack. The man flew back, rolling over and over until he lay still... not moving in the slighest...

Not even breathing.

Horror exploded in her chest, and she dropped to her knees, her vision blurring. She felt Mio's warm, comforting touches as her head bunted against Naomi's arms.

"I killed him... he's... he's dead."

"Naomi..." Iruka's voice, filled with shock, somehow jolted her out of her shock and existential dread just enough to turn to him, seeing his wounded body and Naruto's stunned face.

Something clicked in her brain, the need to help perhaps, and every ounce of pain seemed to drift away as unusual clarity seemed to take over her heart. Picking up her cat, she walked over to Naruto and placed the cat on his chest. Mio seemed to understand her desires and she started to wind all over Naruto's body, licking his tear streaked face. Naomi on the other hand settled for kneeling next to Iruka and examining his wounds.

"Your vest took the majority of the damage, the Shuriken is only superficially in your body. I can patch you up." And before Iruka could stop her or flinch, she tore out the Shuriken with a burst of strength, ignoring the blood as she pulled out the rolls of bandages she always kept in her pouches. She placed a small section on the bleeding wound, applying pressure. "Naruto..."

"What?" Naruto asked, his voice dulled with pain.

"If I put a Kunai in a scroll, so I could take it out later... does that make the scroll and Kunai the same thing?"

Naruto frowned. " No, what you talki-"

"Your not the Kyuubi Naruto. It is inside of you but your not it. If you were, would you have failed so badly? Would you like Ramen and Iruka and the village? Would you let people bully you and mock you? I don't think you would..." The words were absently spewing from her mouth, but she meant them. "Don't feel guilty for what he did, it wasn't you who killed people... like my parents... your not a monster."

She never expected Naruto's arms to wrap around her, squeezing as he sobbed into her shoulder, but she didn't mind even if she disliked Naruto quiet a bit. In this she understood how much pain he must be in. She couldn't and wouldn't judge him for his reaction.

Who could really?

"Naruto... the scroll is open... did you read it?" Iruka said, his voice soft and pained as she tended to his wounds with Naruto still attached.

Slowly Naruto pulled away, sniffling pathetically. "Yes... Shadow clones. I managed to get the jutsu before you came." His voice was pathetic, pained but there was an edge of pride she couldn't help but smile at.

"MEOOOOW!" Mio's meow was her only warning, shoving everyone to the side just in time to get a large Shuriken slicing a painful path across the back of her shoulders.

The pain was intense, but years of sparring and instinct kicked in. She rolled over, falling into a stance over the wounded Iruka and emotionally damaged Naruto. She saw the source of her wound, Mizuki standing with a massively swollen and bloody nose and mouth. His cheeks were mangled, swollen and bruised from her kick, broken maybe...

"You little bitch, I've wanted you dead for so long... you and Shino and Sasuke... your brats, thinking your so great when your still wet and naive and weak!" He radiated bloodlust and chakra, hate oozing from every pore. "I am going to gut you and mount that cat on my wall!"

"MULTISHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" An explosion of chakra and smoke smacked into her, almost knocking Naomi over as the clearing filled with what had to be a hundred Naruto's. He was growling, his eyes slit and his whisker marks thicker then normal. "If you touch them, I will kill you!"

For the first time, Naomi realized that she had deeply undervalued another. Naruto clearly had a lot of potential... just how much, she had no idea, but clearly more then she realized.

Smirking, though humbled and realizing her own arrogance, she turned to what she assumed was the real Naruto. "Hey, what do you feel about beating him til he screams like a little bitch?"

Naruto's only answer was a grin, magnified by a hundred other bodies.

Mizuki's screams were beyond satisfying as they filled the forest air.

""'

"You've learned a very serious secret, my dear." Hiruzen frowned at the girl before him, taking in her unusual appearance. All she had on, other then her pouches, was a bandage over her back, a sports bra and a pair of short shorts... and a healthy coating of blood that wasn't hers. In her arms was her cat, a beautiful brownish orange cat that had a shockingly high amount of chakra. "I trust that you will keep it."

The girl nodded, bowing softly. "Of course, it isn't mine to share... besides, I can see why no one else knew. Naruto would have been lynched if they did, no one deserves that."

Warmed by her words, Hiruzen gestured to her body. " Why are you dressed so and how did you find Naruto? Other then Iruka and Mizuki, no one was able to find him...actually how did you know anything was wrong? We were not so obvious that you should have noticed at all." Either this girl was more skilled then she let on, like many ROOT members that hid in plain sight, or he needed to have his chunin retrained to be better at stealth.

The girl laughed a little before holding out her cat. " Miss Mio woke me up, acting very strange. She was hissing and howling and just going crazy. I trusted my instincts, fearing that maybe there was an attack. I may be new but it is my duty to protect my home, rookie or not. She flew from my hands the moment I took her outside and she moved like a ninja, she actually hoped from roof to roof! She found them easily and attacked Mizuki."

"I saw that part...I watched the entire confrontation with my Crystal ball, I know that you replaced yourself, with jonin level precision I might add, with your cat and unleashed a devastating kick to Mizuki's face. I was very impressed with your action, your a very skilled Kunoichi for your age. I can see why you earned Kunoichi of the year... however I am still curious, how did you cat know there was something wrong."

A flare of annoyance crossed the girl's face, but she just sighed. "I have been pumping her with chakra when I pet her in an attempt to make her smarter and stronger, I want her to be my partner like Kiba and Akamaru. I was shooting in the dark, so to speak, but I think it worked."

"It did, her chakra is very advanced for a mere cat and very strong. I suspect that since your human, and thus have more advanced chakra, she was enhanced as well. Your spiritual chakra strengthened her mind and your physical chakra enhanced her body." What he didn't say was how it reminded him of how Jinchuuriki were enhanced by the superior chakra's of their tailed beasts... exposure during periods of development were permanent for anyone, there was a reason Orochimaru chose children to experiment on... children of all species were more easily changed by chakra as their bodies were already in development. "I imagine she sensed the surges of Naruto's chakra while he was testing out the Shadow clone jutsu, the angry and concerned chakra of my ninja as well as Mizuki's wrathful hatred. That would explain how she knew where to go. That she told you is a sign that she trusts you and sees you as her protector. I applaud that, it is a sign you have raised her well. Be proud of that. Still, it was very risky, you could have overloaded her coils and killed her or worse."

The girl cringed, shame in her eyes. " I genuinely didn't know that... my intentions were pure though, I assure you."

"I believe you... however since you have proven that your cat is capable of using chakra and was part of a mission I will allow you to not only keep her, but to train her for combat. I will speak to the Inuzuka head, Tsume, and see if we can monitor her chakra, development and powers. They do hold sway over the veterinarians after all. I will pay for it, seeing in a way, Miss Mio here is going to become a Kunoichi as well as her Mistress."

The girl's beautiful smile was beyond what he expected and it made his actions all the more beneficial to his desires to help the girl that showed Naruto so much kindness. "Thank you, I cannot express just how much that means to me. I... I want to make my own clan one day, I was hoping to incorporate Mio and cats in general into that... I want to help the village by making a clan that is powerful, memorable and mighty."

"I can see that happening... and if you continue to show your worth and skill, I will do what I can to ensure that happens." He gave her a soft smile, pleased the Will of Fire that clearly marked the girl before him, even if it had been hard to see before what with her quiet demeanor. "...now, back to more serious matters, we need to discuss your pay."

"Pay?"

"You did help stop Mizuki, which means you technically played part in a B ranked Mission, as did Naruto. That will go onto your records, as will your knowledge of Naruto's status as a Jinchuuriki. That means if knowledge on this matter gets out, you will be suspect. On the bright side, you will get paid for this. I will have it placed into your account, however you cannot reveal anything you know on the matter. If asked, you can say something to the effect that you helped stopped Mizuki from stealing an important scroll but nothing on Naruto beyond his involvement in fighting Mizuki and his new mastery over the Shadow clones. Am I clear?"

"Crystal."

"Wonderful... Now, if you don't mind, can you grab Naruto before you go... oh and go to the Vets office before you go to the academy. You don't have to be at the Academy until Ten, so I would say go to the vets around seven. I want a thorough work up of your cat as well as information as to how train her. Is that clear? I am allowing you to bring an untested pet as a Kunoichi, this is unprecedented. I am giving you a chance, do not squander it."

" I won't, Lord Hokage. I would never do that, this is all I have been wishing for an more."

"I believe you... oh and one last thing... thank you for comforting Naruto. I know you lost your parents to the Kyuubi, what you did was remarkable and you deserve to be recognized for that."

"""

Naomi was almost blushing as she left the Hokage's office. " Naruto, you can go in."

The boy smiled at her. "Okay, Naomi...and thank you again."

"No problem Naruto... no problem at all." She smiled as she left, walking out of the hall and down the stairs. She was tired, she was sore and she wanted a shower before bed. "Thank you Miss Mio, my sweet girl. We are going to be Ninja the both of us, did you hear that?" She pet her little girl, pushing her chakra in with every single swipe of her hands. " I am sorry for risking your life, I didn't know... but enough of that. We are going to do this and we are going to be great."

Looking down at her cat, Naomi gave her a real thorough look over, her eyes looking for details she never paid attention to before. Immediately she realized her cat had thicker, more defined muscles then her tiny kitten body should have allowed. Her eyes were bright and looking at her with odd focus, not just the drifting focus of a cat. There seemed to be understanding in her eyes, though maybe Naomi was reading into that.

However more then anything was the warmth she felt oozing from the cat on contact, and she knew it was her cat's chakra. Like her tiny body couldn't use the chakra within her or fully contain it so she oozed it as warmth. It felt like her, kind and warm and just slightly feral. The mere concept made Naomi smile.

"We are going to rule the world, the two of us... my sweet girl. No one is going to stop us." She kissed her little head and together they marched their way home, happy and determined more then ever before.

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

I wasn't going to have her apart of this but I realized it was the perfect place to showcase Miss Mio's evolving power and intelligence and senses. It just fit so well and actually doesn't change a whole lot...

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.