Disclaimer: This applies to the whole story so that I don't have to write it every chapter. I do not own Naruto.

Ch. 1 part 1: A Grizzly Demise

Oh no! No no no! It was adorable! This was bad! So bad! So very very bad! I wish it wouldn't make that noise. Ok, just walk away. Get as much distance as possible. There's one over here too? Two of them! No no no! Crap, it's too late! She's coming! Run just run! I ran as fast as I could trying to put as much distance between me and that thing as possible. Maybe if I get far enough away it will leave me alone. A huge roar split the air. It's still coming, it's still coming! I'm gonna die!

40 minutes earlier:

I walked. The breeze blew across my face ruffling my hair. Birds twittered in the trees. The sun warmed everything it touched. He walked next to me silently as I enjoyed the peace of our hike. He hadn't said a word for the last two miles. That's odd. I looked over at my usually chatty boyfriend. His face looked slightly troubled. Well that isn't a good sign. Something must be up.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Alexis," he said slightly nervously. "I…I…we need to talk."

"Ok?" That didn't sound good.

"I think it's time we parted ways," he said bluntly. Wait what? "I've been thinking and this isn't what I've been looking for." I stared at him for a moment in shock.

"What do you mean?" I asked hysterically. I'm about to lose him? He's leaving me?

"You're a nice girl Alexis, but you're not the one for me." He looked at me directly, meeting my eyes. "I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore. I don't want to lead you on so I have to tell you now. We are done." I stood there not moving, not saying anything. He watched me for a moment then turned and walked away.

I cried. I cried so hard. Sitting down in the middle of the hiking trail I let the emotions flow from me like a sprung water pipe. Eventually the tears stopped flowing over. I got up, and felt numb as I brushed the dirt from my pants and started down the mountain. Well this explains why he wanted to meet in the parking lot rather than drive us both up here. He must have known we might be leaving separately. At least I can get home on my own.

I walked slowly. My eyes traced the dirt trail as I went. The woods suddenly felt lonely despite the bird calls and other sounds originating from it. I lost track of time as I sauntered on. Eventually I began to cry again. The tears clouded my vision of the path in front of me. I came across something small sitting in the middle of the trail. It was brown. About the size of a 14 week old chocolate lab puppy only chubbier, and definitely not a dog. It was so fuzzy and cute but all I could think was oh no, as the little baby grizzly cub looked up at me with startled eyes and yelled for mom.

It hurt. The big heavy weight pinned me down as sharp teeth and claws pierced my skin. I screamed for a long time. Or at least it felt like a long time. It was probably not as long as it seemed. The momma bear finally decided I was no longer a threat and left me to return to her cubs. I lie there in agony unable to move. It felt like an eternity as seconds seemed to take hours. I drifted away from reality into a strange dream. Then into darkness. It didn't hurt anymore, at least physically. Just an all encompassing darkness. It wouldn't last forever.

Ch. 1 part 2: Baby Tears

It happened slowly. The darkness was still there but it was different. I could move a tiny bit now. It was warm. I stretched my limbs as best I could and listened to the loud rhythmic whooshing sound that was a constant in this little void. I listened to the other noises too. Quiet and muffled noises. It sounded like whispers and a barbal of noises you would expect to hear in normal daily life. It reminded me of my life. It kind of made me sad. I missed my life and this place was not enough to change that. It was a lonely place. I was bored so I slept most of the time which helped but it wasn't enough. The void I existed in would move in patterns I could never predict. Sometimes it would stop altogether. The whispers and other noises would often stop then too, but the whooshing never did. At first it drove me bonkers, but I got used to it and it became a comforting sound.

What is my purpose now? Will I just float around in this darkness forever? I felt so useless. What is the point? The noises seemed to reflect my thoughts. The muffled voices turned to screams. I wanted to scream too. To let my frustration and all my pent up emotions come spilling out, but I couldn't seem to make a sound. All I could do was listen within the void. Then suddenly everything descended into chaos as I began to slide away from the void.

The voices got louder, less muffled. I left utter darkness to enter the light of the sun. The shear light blinded me instantly. It was cold. Why does the sun feel like Antarctica? Slowly, slowly my eyes adjusted to where I could make things out, but it was still pretty blurry. I found I was in a room and a huge man was lifting me in the air. I was so confused and the only thing I could think to do was cry. My piercing voice uttering sound at last. I literally sound like a baby.

A warm blanket wrapped around me and I was able to still myself long enough to get my bearings. I finally came to the realization that the people around me weren't actually all that big, I was just super tiny. I literally am a baby! I had just been born again. Well this is awkward. My little bundled self was handed over to a woman lying on the bed. My mom. My eyes were still blurry but from what I could make out she was beautiful. Her hair was jet black and the two eyes that looked at me with so much love were a deep dark shade of purple. She looked exhausted as she whispered to me. The same voice I had heard from in the void, only not so muffled. I couldn't tell what she was saying. It sounded foreign, kind of like Japanese. Oh man, am I gonna have to learn a new language?

When left alone I was not the quietest of babies. I kind of wanted to be the easy type. To only cry when I was hungry, or needed my diaper changed, or something was wrong. I needed more than that. I needed my mom. After so long drifting alone in a void of darkness I was desperate for attention. I was content when I was held in my mothers arms. She began to bring me with her everywhere she would go. She even bought a baby carrier so she could bring me with her when she left the house. My mother was a kind and gentle woman. As time went on my eyesight improved and I could see more details. I watched the world quietly from my mothers arms. I still didn't understand what anyone said, but I liked the sound of my mothers voice so I listened.

It was when we went out shopping that I realized something was different about this place. I was on my mom's back in the baby carrier. My eyesight was now good enough to make out things happening in the distance. As I looked I noticed that a lot of the people were dressed like you would see in my favorite anime, Naruto. Their outfits looked like they could be the real thing. Is there some cosplay thing going on? Then I saw them. Up in the air people were soaring from rooftop to rooftop. Leaps even pro parkourists couldn't do. In the background, a huge looming mountain. The great stone faces of the hokage mountain stared down at me.

My first birthday came around. I could crawl now and I could see things clearly. I could also understand a lot of the things my mom would say and could even say a few of my own. Thanks to watching anime I already knew a few words. My first word was what(nani). My mom thought that was funny. I also knew mommy, food, and help. I still had a hard time saying hello(konnichiwa). It was a mouthful for my little baby lips to say, but the smiles on peoples faces when I greeted them were priceless. I also knew my name and my mom's name, but I couldn't quite say them right yet. They were kind of odd for names, but they were unique and gave me a connection with my mom. My mothers name was Hajimari Kanashimi and I was Nokoribi Kanashimi. My mother, it turned out, had once been a medical ninja. She had to leave active duty after she lost her leg in battle. She wears a prosthetic now and it seems to work well for her.

It was late in the evening when a quiet yet hurried knock came from the front door. My mom went to answer it. I heard her open the door and speak with the person on the other side. They spoke in quiet voices and I couldn't hear what they were saying. I crawled over to investigate. Someone in a dark cloak had entered the house and stood in the entrance room. My mom stood in the doorway looking out. She looked around carefully then closed the door quickly and turned to the mysterious guest. Seeing me sitting not far away she beckoned to me.

"Nokoribi, come meet your grandmother." My grandma? The stranger pulled down her hood and looked at me. A big smile spread across her face. She had dark brown hair with graying strands and wrinkles along her face, but she was beautiful. She didn't look all that old for a grandma. The most noticeable feature was her eyes. Pale and pink tinted. Hyuga eyes.

"Nokoribi! I just had to come and meet you." she said sweetly. "You are so pretty. Aren't you the sweetest thing?"

"Hello." I said. Her smile grew ever wider.

About 25 years earlier:

A woman lay on the bed in labor. Her pale eyes watching the man at the end of the bed. The man she loved. The father of her child. She had decided to have the delivery at his home. It would be easier to keep their secret. Keeping her pregnancy unknown in a clan that had the byakugan was difficult. She wasn't going to ruin all that now by going to a hospital. It wasn't them finding out about the relationship that bothered her. As a branch member Hyuga that valued freedom as much as she did she wouldn't let her child be branded with that cursed mark. The same mark that marred her own forehead. No, her child must be free. Finally the baby was born. It was a girl. A beautiful baby girl. Her hair and eyes were the same as her father's. She would have to be raised by her father. The clan couldn't know of her true origin. She had to be free.

Author's note: Hi everyone, I love reading these kinds of stories so I thought I'd do one of my own. This is my first story here so I'm still new at this. I know the names are kind of weird but I wanted something unique.

Meanings according to google translate:

Hajimari: beginning

Nokoribi: embers or remaining days

Kanashimi: sorrow

I was originally going to make this 2 separate chapters, but with how small they are I decided to put them together.