I know, two chapters in one day right? Super weird, but I have the chapters all lined up and ready to post, I just have to get around to doing that before I leave for the next few months.

Enjoy!

Nayamae awoke lying on a hard surface. She pushed herself up to a sitting position, holding her thumping head. "Ugh…" She looked around and found she had been moved to a cell. The cell was stone with a single sink, toilet, and bed against the walls. Metal bars kept her inside.

"That was quite the show you just pulled," a man's voice said at the bars. Nayamae recognized his voice as the sharingan user. "What was that?" he asked.

"None of your business," she replied sharply, turning towards him. She looked him over. His arms were crossed as he stared at her, expression unfazed by her bitterness. She thought it was silly of him to still be wearing another mask that hid his face while his Leaf headband covered the sharingan eye. His animal mask hung on a clip over his left hip.

"You just added onto your list of charges. Not only theft, but also assault. Did you not see the extensive list?" Nayamae glared daggers at him as it slowly dawned on him. "Oh," he said with gradual realization. "You can't read, can you?" Despite herself, she shook her head, avoiding his gaze. "Huh. No wonder you lashed out."

"I'm not afraid of you," she spat.

He shook his head. "I don't think fearing me is necessary. You're afraid of something, or rather, someone else. Who is it? The person who hired you?" Nayamae kept her mouth shut. She was being interrogated again. "Listen, Nayamae, if you cooperate, whatever sentence you get will be waived some. It's better for you to talk than to not."

She smiled, laughing quietly to herself. "No," she said, shaking her head. "No, it isn't."

"Then why don't you tell me what those scrolls were for? Let's start there," he prompted.

She continued to shake her head. "I can't read. How am I supposed to know what those scrolls were for? You should congratulate me though," she stated, causing him to crease his brow in confusion. "An illiterate kitsune managed to steal literature that was supposed to be heavily guarded."

"Yet which one of us is inside a jail cell?" He sighed heavily as she glared at him again. "Here," he said, opening a slot in the bars and reaching out of Nayamae's sight to grab a bowl and chopsticks. He passed the bowl of noodles through the slot. "Eat."

She looked at the meal suspiciously, but took it anyway. Placing the chopsticks between her fingers, she stirred through the noodles. Other than a peeled boiled egg, she found nothing but noodles and broth. After tasting it, she decided it wasn't that bad, but could have used a little less salt. She sat eating in silence while the man continued to watch her through the bars of the cell.

"Are you just going to watch me eat?" she asked him, feeling annoyed. "Or is there more you want to ask me?" She shoved more noodles in her mouth. "Actually, first, I wanna know your name," she said through chewing. "You know mine."

"Kakashi."

Nayamae nodded, seemingly approving of his name. "Nice of you to introduce yourself first before asking me invading questions."

"It wasn't important," he argued.

"Milo-whats-his-name seemed to think so."

Kakashi rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I think we're done for now. You need to have better answers than what you gave me the next time you're questioned."

She laughed mockingly. "Sure! And I'll knit a sweater with these chopsticks and the threads from this blanket while I wait!" She spit at his feet. Without another word, Kakashi turned and left, slamming the nearby door shut on his way out. Nayamae shook her head and finished eating her noodles, leaving the egg for last.

After several hours of being left alone with nothing to keep her occupied, Nayamae half considered actually trying to knit a sweater using the chopsticks and the fraying blanket. She had just picked up the chopsticks from out of the bowl when she heard the door from down the hall open and close. Quickly, she put the chopsticks down and went to the bars to see who was coming towards her. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him.

"Kabuto!" she exclaimed, recognizing him despite his disguise. "What are you doing here?" She answered her own question before he did: he was here to get her and take her back to Orochimaru. A wave of dread fell over her.

"Releasing our kitsune from jail, of course!" Kabuto replied obviously, pulling out a ring of keys. "Lord Orochimaru wants to see you right away," he said, unlocking the door and letting her out.

"Of course he does," Nayamae muttered to herself more than to him. "It's not that urgent, is it?"

Kabuto looked at her. "He's impatient at this time. Testing what little patience he has left is definitely not worth a try." She hung her head. "Don't feel so bad. This is the first time you've failed him in quite some time. It'll be fine," he assured her, cupping her face with his hands. Nayamae tried to give a convincing smile.

Nayamae didn't feel that Kabuto lied to her, she felt Kabuto just didn't know. As soon as he shut the door to the lab behind him, she was at Orochimaru's mercy. The first hit didn't hurt as much as the next several that followed. She had begged him to listen between the hits, but he wouldn't have it.

"I didn't say anything!" she cried helplessly, attempting to use her arms to block him from hitting her face. "They didn't learn anything!"

Orochimaru clenched his teeth and threw her to the ground, holding a foot on her throat. "You think they didn't learn anything?!" he roared, putting pressure on her neck as she struggled against him. "They know what to guard now! It doesn't matter if you said a word!" He removed his foot from her throat, causing her to choke in air. He kicked her, making sure she would stay on the ground. "You failed. You're lucky I haven't killed you by now!" he exclaimed between kicks.

Nayamae pushed herself up to her knees, still catching her breath after he had finished releasing his anger. Her face and chest ached where he had kicked her. Her nose dripped blood down her face and onto the floor. She felt Orochimaru grab hold of her hair, dragging her across the stone floor towards a closet. She cried out in pain, reaching for his arm to relieve the tension from her head. He had practically thrown her into the closet, shutting the door behind her. There was no need to lock the door; there was no door knob from the inside.

"Let me out!" she cried, slamming her hands against the wood. "LET ME OUT!"

It was dark in the closet except for the light coming between the door and the floor. It was extremely small, hardly any room for her to even be able to lie comfortably. Nayamae swore the walls were closing in on her, causing her to cry out even more. Between her hitting the door and her voice, Nayamae didn't hear the hissing of multiple snakes quickly coming towards her. She screamed loudly when they slithered underneath the door, giving no warning before biting at her ankles. Her blood immediately felt like it was on fire from the snakes' venom. Her head felt dizzy, making her lose her balance and fall inside the closet, hitting her head on the wall and floor with a loud thump. Her vision went black.

One Year before the Nine Tails attack, 10 years of age.

"Abba!" Nayamae yelled from outside her home. "Abba, come look! Come look!" Her urgent call prompted the response of the very muscular man to run outside.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, coming up beside where the child crouched.

"Look at this weird bug," she said with a giggle, holding a colorful caterpillar up to his mustached face. "Isn't it gross?"

Abba forced a smile. "Yes, Naya, it's very gross," he replied, moving her hand away from his face. "Put him over there on the bush so he doesn't get squished."

"Yes, Abba," she obeyed, setting it on one of the leaves. She continued to crouch, closely watching the caterpillar inch its way down the stem.

Abba was constantly surprised at this girl's innocence. After surviving the horrors of the war and being orphaned because of it, he was surprised she hadn't been hardened by her harsh reality. She must have been too young to understand, he figured. Nayamae knew this man wasn't actually her father, but rather someone who had picked her up off the streets before human traffickers could. With no one around to watch her, the criminal decided she may be useful to him with his weapons and drug trading. This was better for her than being sold to anyone, he reasoned. Being a man such as himself (with the outward appearance of a bear), he was extremely surprised to be so gentle towards this little girl. Abba certainly was too soft for his own good.

Abba went back inside the house. Although, he wouldn't have really called it a house rather than a two room shack. The outside of the house looked as if no one had done any maintenance on it in years. (Abba kept it this way incase someone came looking for him and would think nobody was living there). The inside, however, was furnished quite nicely, but sparingly. The wood floors were clean, yet the fire pit was full of ash. Off to the left side was a short table with two cushions and a rug underneath. Beneath the rug was a secret door to a small cellar, big enough to store a bit of Abba's "product" with plenty of room to spare. (Nayamae had been instructed to hide in there incase something ever happened). Against the far wall was multiple shelves and drawers for various items Abba kept out of Nayamae's reach. To the right of the firepit were sliding doors that opened to where they slept.

Minutes later, Nayamae came crashing into the house. "Abba!" she cried, holding something brown and furry up to him. "Abba, we have to help it!"

He looked down at the injured rabbit in her hands, its leg badly twisted. He frowned. "I dunno, Naya," he said sadly, kneeling down to her level. "It doesn't look like he's doing too good."

"But, Abba…!" she sniffled. "I didn't mean to chase him to break his leg!"

He was taken aback for a moment. "Chase? What were you chasing him for?"

Nayamae shrugged. "I thought it would be fun, I suppose," she replied, blinking the tears out of her eyes.

Abba sighed heavily, stroking her disheveled black hair. "Here. Let's at least make him comfortable." He stood and went to find a small box, putting a dish towel in the bottom of it as a cushion. She set the rabbit carefully onto the towel, cooing softly at it.

Much to Nayamae's dismay, the rabbit didn't survive for much longer. Abba had to comfort her for a few minutes, but as soon as he suggested making stew with the rabbit, she cheered up. With her stomach full of stew, Nayamae crawled from the table to her bed, curling up comfortably in the heavy blanket and falling asleep quickly. Abba stayed awake cleaning up their dinner and was soon snoring loudly by the girl's side.

Nayamae awoke in the middle of the night, feeling as though someone was coming rapidly towards their house. She never understood this feeling. She had asked Abba about it once and he gave her a confusing reply; something about everyone having a thing called chakra and some people are able to sense other people's chakra. It was something shinobis always used. She had no idea what chakra was or what it had to do with her feeling other people's presence when she couldn't see them.

"Abba!" Nayamae whispered, moving from beneath his arm and shaking his shoulder to wake him. "Abba! Wake up! Somebody's coming!"

Abba was awake immediately. "How many are there?" he asked urgently.

The girl paused, holding out her fingers to count how many she sensed. "Three!" she announced, feeling proud of herself for remembering the number.

"Come, Naya," he ordered, leading her towards the secret door under the table. "Hide in here. Don't come out until I get you, okay?" He went to shut the door.

"Abba, wait!"

"What is it?"

"Can I have a light…?"

He went to a nearby shelf and grabbed his lighter. "Use this, but try to keep it off for as long as you can, okay?" She nodded, taking the lighter from him. He kissed her forehead and helped her into the cellar. "Stay here and keep quiet." He shut the door with a soft click.

She could hear him pulling the rug over it and setting the table on top of that. It was quiet in the room above her now. She could sense that the three intruders were right outside the house now. She imagined they were looking in through the windows, with dripping fangs and wide, bulging eyes. She gasped, scaring herself with the image. She sensed Abba was standing still, a weapon in hand to defend himself.

Silently, Nayamae cheered Abba on as the sounds of battle came from beyond her hiding place. She could paint a picture in her mind of what was happening based on where she sensed the intruders were in the house. Two of them had attacked Abba straight on while the third began ransacking their shelves and drawers, looking for anything to steal. Abba had thrown one of the intruders away from him, causing him to land on the small table, breaking it to pieces. Nayamae gasped at the loud crash above her head. Her mouth stayed open in horror as she felt the man's soul leave his body.

The other intruder had finished his search, turning his attention to helping his comrade fight off Abba. Abba had shoved the second attacker's face into the pile of coals, making him cry out in pain as he breathed in hot ashes and burned his skin. He blindly ran away from the house. His comrade came at Abba with more ferocity, attacking while he wasn't looking. This foe turned out to be stronger than Abba expected. After several minutes of fighting, this opponent had severely wounded him, leaving him to die on his front step. Abba had crawled his way back into the house, trying to keep from bleeding out. Before losing consciousness, he had managed to sear most of his wounds shut by heating a blade in the coals. His last effort to get to his little girl left him lying unconscious beside the corpse of the man on the shattered table.

It was silent above her for too long. "Abba...?" Nayamae called out experimentally. She knocked her fist on the cellar door above her. "Abba?" She sensed him just outside the cellar door, so why wasn't he coming to her? She paused feeling something warm and wet on her hand. She felt more warm liquid had begun to drip heavily onto her face. She pulled out the lighter from her pocket, flicking it on with her thumb. Blood was leaking through the door, dripping onto her and down the wall. She looked at her hand where she had hit it, seeing the deep, red color. The iron smell invaded her nose all at once, causing her to fall back in the cellar. The lighter went out when she let go of it, losing it in the dark. She screamed in terror.

"ABBAAAA!" she cried, hitting the door with her fists as hard as she could. She tried using her shoulder to lift the door open. Blood continued to rain down on her as her efforts failed to lift the dead man off the door to let her out. "ABBA, PLEASE! HELP ME! AAAABBAAA! HELP!" She felt as though the walls of the cellar were getting closer to her, the smell of the blood getting stronger, her attempts to get help weakening. She pressed herself against the walls, trying to keep them from crushing her between them. "ABBA!"

Nayamae was trapped in the cellar for hours. She felt as though she would never get the stench of blood out of her nose. Eventually, she found the lighter she had lost, immediately flicking it on. She sat in the corner away from the bloody door, burning her fingers by holding down the lighter switch for so long.

She did not hear the sounds of Abba moving the dead man off of the door, nor did she hear the creak of the door as it opened. He took the lighter from her hands, picked her up, and carried her out of the cellar. He hardly noticed, or at least didn't mention, the blood that drenched her hair and clothes. She clung tightly to him as they walked out of the house and into the early morning air.

Aww poor thing. I hope you have enjoyed this so far. Please leave me a review telling me what you think!