Chapter 18

"Fang…" I whisper, still sitting on the ground.

He stares down at me contemptuously while he sniffs the air around me carefully. Kakashi and his little pug friend at now at my back, I can feel Kakashi's knees pressing against me.

"You managed to summon him?" Kakashi asks, sounding impressed.

The fact that he can't seem to believe it irritates me. "Of course I did, how else do you think he got here?" I ask bitingly.

Fang stops his sniffing. "I never thought I'd see the day when Sakumo's whelp would have the courage to summon me." He says icily. "Just because you got lucky this time doesn't mean I'll just do whatever you tell me to."

"But…but I summoned you." I argue.

Fang turns his back to me. "They only reason I helped your father every now and then was because I owed him a life debt. To you, I owe nothing. "

"If you owed my father a life debt isn't there anyway I can convince you to help me? Please, just give me a chance." I beg.

The great wolf-dog sighs and faces me. "Fine, but I won't make it easy on you," he warns.

"I don't expect you to." I say, pushing myself back onto my feet.

"Red," Kakashi's voice has taken a warning tone. "Maybe you should take it easy."

I shake my head, not breaking eye contact with the wolf. "No. I won't, can't give up."

Fang lets loose a barking laugh. "Kakashi, are you sure she isn't yours? She's certainly foolish enough to be."

Kakashi refuses to answer.

"He did try to warn you, girl. Kakashi summoned me once but failed my test, so I've never answered his summoning ever."

"I get along fine without your help." Kakashi says as if this conversation doesn't interest him.

"Spoken like a true loser, Kakashi."

"Enough. Are you going to give me the challenge or not, dog?" I demand.

The golden eyes asses me once again, considering. "Your father was the only man who was able to summon both me, and my brother Flame. If you can summon Flame now, we'll come running at your call. But if you can't, you'll never be able to summon either of us ever again."

I wince. He can tell my chakra is dangerously low, how can he expect me to summon another powerful wolf? I take in his confident grin and realise, he doesn't expect me to. He expects me to fail. I grind my teeth.

"What's wrong little whelp? Do you want to quit now and save yourself the embarrassment?" He laughs again.

I close my eyes, concentrating hard. Father, please help me, I plead silently. I open my eyes again and meet the golden gaze of the wolf in front of me. I raise my hand and bite painfully into the soft flesh of my thumb, drawing blood. I pour what little is left of my strength and chakra into this jitsu and snarling at the pain that comes with doing so.

I hear Fang's sharp intake of breath at the sight before me. Somehow, I managed to summon another wolf-dog, just like Fang. Well, almost just like Fang. The build and height are similar, but that's it. The new wolf's fur is a deep black, and his eyes are a blood red. They seem to blaze even brighter as they roam over me, inspecting me.

"Impossible." Fang snarls.

"Hello brother," Flame says casually. "Looks like you really stepped in it this time, didn't you?"
"Shut your muzzle." Fang barks at him angrily.

Flame laughs at his brother's anger and trots up to me. "Hey Princess."

I'm still in shock, trying to catch my breath. "Hello, Flame."

The red eyes sparkle as they catch the light. "You passed his dumb test, huh? He thinks it's so clever because Sakumo was the only one who could ever summon us both. You may not look anything like him, but I can tell you're made out of the same stuff he was. Fang's an idiot sometimes, and doesn't realise that we should be chomping at the bit to follow you. Heh." He throws a glance over at his brother. "I like to think that I'm better natured than he is, and I'm always up for a fight or some fun, call us anytime, Princess." With no more than that, both wolf brothers disappear.

The next weeks fly by faster than I ever thought possible. The boys lost a lot of time training for the final round of the chunin exams because they all ran off when I did. I tried to apologize to all of them, but Naruto and Saskue wouldn't hear it. Kiba said it didn't matter to him because he didn't make it to the final round, and Shickamaru assured me that he had no intention on training anyway. I wasn't allowed to go with Naruto or Saskue while they were training, and Kakashi and I agreed that it would be best if I stayed hidden and out of public with all the strange shinobi flooding the village as the final round drew nearer. I thought I'd be bored with Naruto so busy training all day, and with Saskue and Kakashi off training together, but I wasn't. If Shickamaru or Kiba didn't visit, I practiced by myself and the days and weeks melted away happily.

Until one evening, a knock came to our door.

Kakashi was sitting with me in the living room when it happened. He was teaching me about the Hokages both present and past. At the sound of the knock, Kakashi's eye slits into a suspicious glare. "Red, I want you to hide." His tone brooks no argument, so I quickly hide behind the couch, fingering my ninja stars, listening for threats and tensing for battle.

'What?" Kakashi barks at the door.

"I've come for my daughter." The sing song voice is unforgettable.

I leap to my feet. "Mother!"

I can see Kakashi open the door, but he doesn't move aside to let her in. "Taiyo, is this really the best time?"

"If anything, it's almost too late. Your village is becoming full with shinobi from all over. Even if she stays here and never leaves until this exam is over, she still has a high risk of being discovered here by my enemies." She pushes her way inside and smiles at me. "Luna! Hmm, you haven't grown much; I suspect you'll always be so short and girlish."

"I thought you wanted me to train her? Protect her?" Kakashi demands.

"I do. It's just right now she's in a lot of danger here. Stop being such a big brother, I'll bring her back to you when this is over." I can see her long hair so much like mine is curled into ringlets that brush her hips. She wears a tight black t-shirt and baggy orange pants. "Luna. I have to take you out of this village for a bit. I'm sorry you can't more time to say good-bye but you'll be back soon."

I nod eagerly; I'm so excited to finally be alone with her, to learn about her, to experience what motherly love really feels like. "That's probably for the best." I agree.

A short time later, she's ready to leave, and anxious from the way she's fidgeting by the door. I hug Kakashi and whisper in his ear. "Don't make Saskue late his match, okay? Tell him and Naruto I said good luck and I'll come back soon. I'll miss you, brother. If the exams are over and she hasn't brought me home yet, come get me. I love you."

"I'll try and be on time." Kakashi promises as he hugs me tight to him. With a sneaky motion he presses a key into my palm. "Keep this key a secret. I love you too." Then he lets me go.

Quickly, I shove the key in my pocket and out of my mother's sight.

My mother wraps an arm around me as we walk away, but as soon as we can no longer see Kakashi' house, she drops it, and continues walking quietly.

She must be nervous too, "Mother, how long have you been able to read minds? Can you do anything else?" I say to break the ice.

"Does it matter?" She asks distractedly.

"I'm just trying to get some advice about my powers; I've never met anyone else who knew what to do with them."

"Hmm, well I have one piece of advice."

"What is it?" I ask, smiling up at her face.
Her hand grabs my shoulder, as she digs her nails painfully into my skin. Her grip is so intense I cry out. "Go to sleep." She hisses in my ear.

I can feel the enchantresses command taking hold and as my heavy eyelids shut the last thing I see are those shifty eyes.

…Damn.