*Chapter One*
"Come on Naien let's run!" I called out excitedly. My puppy Naien bounded alongside me as we ran beside the Mizukami River, which was my favorite place to play. My name is Tamara Yukiokami, daughter of the 4th yukikage who died soon after I was born and Kitsu Mitarashi, who originated from a secluded area of the Land of Snow. My mom had said that daddy died because he sealed a demon inside of me called the Yuki-Kyuubi, trying to save our small village from being destroyed. I am 4 years old now, though many people think I am 6 or seven when they first meet me due to my larger than average vocabulary and skill set. Mommy has started to teach me how to be a shinobi and how to read, she says daddy would have wanted me to and that it was important if I wanted to be really strong someday. Personally, I prefer to train than to sit around and read because it is hard for me to sit still. Naien suddenly stopped, sniffing the air curiously before growling lowly in his throat at something off to our left. I followed his stare and saw a small boy, not much older than me, sitting beneath a heavily snow laden tree. He had raven black hair and onyx colored eyes, which was unusual for anyone in this area, and appeared to be half-frozen.
Naien approached him first, edging toward him slowly with his ears pressed flat against his head while I tried to figure out what to do. The boy glanced at Naien and then at me, showing no sign of fear even though Naien was a mix of arctic wolf and husky, surprising me with his sad gaze. "Are… you ok? Are you from around here?" I asked softly, coming up to him and kneeling before him to better to see his face." He looked up at me slowly, as if deliberating whether or not to answer me, and stuttered out in reply, "N…n…no. I am ffffrom K.. Konoha." I smiled encouragingly and put my hands into his saying, "Good then maybe we can be friends. My name is Tammara Yukiokami, and my daddy was the 4th yukikage so we have a nice house, do you want to come get warm and have tea with me?" He seemed hesitant at first, but after a few seconds he nodded and attempted to stand but promptly fell over. I braced him with my shoulder and we made our way to my house on the far northern end of the village. Naien happily kept pace with us and seemed to have gotten used to the boys presence because he was no longer showing signs of agitation...
When we arrived, I called out "Mom! I need help. I found a boy who is nearly frozen to death!" She came rushing through the door immediately and began relentlessly questioning him to determine if he was injured or not. After assessing his health, she took him upstairs to be dressed in one of my black long-sleeve shirts and cargo pants, making sure he would be warm so as not to get any more sick than the cold he had gotten. I plopped down in front of the fire with a satisfied sigh with Naien's head in my lap and the boy joined me, hands in his armpits and his gaze on the golden glow before us. "You never did tell me your name." I said, fixing my gaze upon his face which glowed faintly from the fire light.