Chapter 5

- One year later: Somewhere in the southwestern part of the Land of Grass -

"...Huff, huff...!"

Exhausted and lying on the ground in a clearing by a lake in the forest south of a nearby quiet little village was a now seven year old Natsuha Uzumaki after finally succeeding in mastering the tree climbing exercise she'd been working on for the last week or so with her, eyes closed and and doing her absolute best to calm and steady her breath. '...Ugh! Why is this ether control stuff so freaking hard!?' 'Well, you still managed to do it though, right?' 'Thanks, but totally not the point, sis!'

By the way, such was the usual dynamic between the Jinchuuriki and her Tailed Beast 'sister' these days. Meanwhile...

"Very good job, but you know you didn't need to do that many laps up and down the tree, right?" remarked the older, grey haired man standing over and smiling down at her prone and flushed form before casting a small wind arte and sending it her way to try and cool off the little blonde and chuckling a bit at her goofy smile.

"...Mmm...~! That feels really good, y'know! Totally worth it if it gets you to do stuff like this, Mister," lazily chirped up the little blonde, who was totally loving the feel of the cool air lightly brushing against her warm and flushed skin.

Lyner, fondly called 'Mister' by the girls for whatever reason, let out another small increasing the strength of his little breeze and turning it into a focused little gale, knocking her up into the air-

"...Wha!? Hey, HEY...!"

-before blowing her unceremoniously into the lake Hinata and Anko were currently using to practice water walking.

...

"Whoa! Blonde cannon ball incoming!"

"...Eep!"

"...Wow. That makes this like what, the third time this week alone..."

*splash!*

Luckily, for them at least, the pair were quite used to this by now and had moved away with plenty of time to spare since they'd seen this scene play out out several times since beginning their ether control training earlier in the month. While Hinata felt a little bad such a fate kept befalling her blonde best friend, she couldn't deny Anko's point that it was both really funny to watch and made for surprisingly effective evasion training whenever this happened. A moment later, soaking wet and very irate Natsuha exploded out of the lake and jumped onto the water's surface, her violet eyes ablaze in anger, not even noticing that she was now standing atop the water's surface herself.

"...Ugh! Why do you keep throwing me into the lake like that, Mister!?" the blonde half asked, half yelled while pointing at the older, grey haired man in question.

"...Because I've learned that you do much better with these exercises and drills when you aren't thinking about actually doing them. You're all practice, no theory, that's why," answered Lyner in his usual calm and collected way. 'Well, that and it's fun to toss you into a cold lake head first.'

"...Hey!"

"Natsuha-chan, look down."

"Hinata-chan? What are you talkin-Oh! Wow! I'm standing on the water too! I did it! I'm so aweso-BBLLUURRGGHH!"

*splash!*

"...Seriously!? Wow!" Anko said, tears in her eyes and holding her sides as she started laughing... only to end up losing her concentration and suddenly falling into the water herself. "...Oh crap...!"

*splash!*

"You, Anko my dear, are the opposite and need to focus, or that happens. Congratulations Hinata, you are the last girl standing in today's training session. Come and claim your prize," Lyner said as he took out a small box of cinnamon buns."

Then, almost as if she had used a body flicker, the normally shy little Hyuga girl had vanished from sight only to reappear in front of Lyner with said box of cinnamon buns in hand and one already in her mouth.

"...Mmm...~! Sho gggoooddd...~!"

'Well then, I'll just leave her be while I fish out and dry off the other two. Can't have them getting sick on me. Anyway, now that Natsuha's control has finally gotten good enough to catch up to the other two, it shouldn't take me long to help get all three of them to master water walking before moving on. Still, no harm in adding a little extra though. Well, let's see how it goes for now anyway.'

xxx xxx xxx

Yes, Lyner and the others had been very busy since they first met.

After that, and mixed in with getting the girls to the bare minimum physical condition needed to even start their kunoichi/sorcerist training, Lyner and the girls(minus Hinata, who actually helped in teaching them) had to learn the basics... like reading, writing, and basic common knowledge they would need in the field. Thankfully, Makami seemed to enjoy teaching and was very patient considering their circumstances. However, after six months together, the group had to part ways with Makami intending to head further east while Lyner decided to stay and train the girls a bit before deciding on their next move. Incidentally, of all the disciplines he'd learned of during his time with the mysterious snake eyed doctor, fuuinjutsu was the one that interested him the most as it greatly resembled the 'engraving and enchanting' that he himself specialized in. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Natsuha's eyes absolutely sparkled when the subject of the sealing arts came up, likely due to her heritage as an Uzumaki, or because it was a skill that her Mister was apparently also skilled in. Either way, she resolved to learn those skills for herself no matter what she had to do. Before long, and in the blink of an eye, a whole year had come and gone just like that...

- Half an hour or so, and a few ravenously devoured cinnamon buns later -

"So what are these marbles for exactly?" Natsuha asked, curiously eyeing the clear, slightly larger than average marble rolling around atop her tiny little palm. "Like, they're pretty and all but..."

"Before I answer that, can any of you tell me what the three most vital skills in relation to using ether are?" Lyner asked back after handing his other two apprentices the same clear, slightly larger than average marble. Naturally, it was the ever studious and diligent Hinata who answered first.

"Oh, um... first there's 'control', which refers to how precisely one can use ether to perform feats like the tree and water walking exercises we've been working on and how strong or weak we can make our jutsu when we perform them. 'Shape manipulation' refers to how well we can focus or 'mold' our ether into the 'shape' we want. Again, like when we perform the tree or water walking exercise. Control determines just how much chakra we let out to perform the task while the 'Shape' comes from our molding of that ether in just the right way to let us walk up a tree or stand atop the water's surface without being blasted off the tree or sinking. 'Nature transformation' is the process that lets one actually change their own normally blank and neutral ether into a different elemental state, like fire or lightning. In essence, 'Nature Transformation' just combines 'Control' and 'Shape Manipulation' and applies them."

"...Um, how did you manage to keep track of all that?" Natsuha asked, scratching the back of her head and feeling a little embarrassed that she could barely remember even half of that despite trying so hard to keep up with her studies as well.

"Meh, it's okay. Not like I can remember all that stuff either," Anko admitted, reassuringly patting the little blonde's shoulder. "Hinata-chan's just got the most brains between the three of us is all. Like how you're a stamina freak and have tons of ether to work with while I'm a schemer that's good with blades and poisons. We're all just good at different stuff is all."

"...Yeah, but isn't having too much ether why I suck at this control stuff? And doesn't that mean there's gonna be plenty of jutsu that I just won't be able to do, like ever?" Natsuha pointed out, shoulders slumping a bit at the realization at just how tough her situation was and how long and hard the road would actually be to become the world's most super awesome kunoichi in the history of ever.

"While it is true that having large reserves will make your overall ether control harder and limit the types of artes you can pull off, that doesn't mean there aren't ways around some of those limitations. To that end, and along with your current training going forward, you'll need to know what your 'elemental affinities' are before we can begin adding 'nature transformation' exercises into your future training regimen," Lyner said while patting the little blonde's head and calming her down. "Remember this. While it is true that you might have to work harder than the others, hard work will still always trump natural genius or raw talent. At least, that is what my own teacher and comrades believed, and they were the strongest sorcerists I've ever known. Just work hard and you'll get there too, little Natsuha."

"...Thanks, Mister!" chirped up the little girl, confidence restored and smiling wide and brightly like the sun itself.

"And that's what these are for then? To show us what our elemental affinities are?" Hinata asked, holding up her own marble and looking through it with her large, characteristic pupiless, lavender eyes.

Lyner nodded. "While it is possible to 'transform' your molded ether into any element you want, provided you have the skill, there will still always be at least one element that you will have an easier time changing compared to any other. This is what is meant by one's 'elemental affinity', though it is also possible to have more than one right off the bat as well. By channeling some of your ether into the marbles I handed you, it will scan for and then react accordingly to the affinity or affinities you are most attuned to."

"...React how?" Anko asked. "And isn't this like that chakra paper stuff we learned about awhile ago? How come we didn't just use that instead?"

"Because unlike 'chakra paper', these can be programmed ahead of time and be reused as many times as we need. That and I have no idea where to even get chakra paper in the first place. As for how it would react? It will change color and, similar to chakra paper, generate physical effects and sensations that would denote which elemental affinity you have. Fire will be shown in red and feel warm, water will show in blue and will feel wet, wind will be green and emit a breeze, earth will be brown and feel stone-like, and lightning will show up as yellow and emit something akin to a light static discharge. Oh, and the strength of the sensation you feel will reflect just how strong your affinity is overall. Likewise, what I just described only refers to the five 'physical' elemental affinities."

"There are other elements then?" Hinata asked, genuinely curious.

"Yes. There are five other 'ethereal' elements as well, but you all don't need to worry about those for now. Now, go ahead and focus a bit of your ether into the marbles. Just enough to feel a bit of feedback in the form of a little tingling sensation. That's how you'll know you've put in just enough."

Nodding, the three girls proceeded to do as their Mister instructed.

...

"Oh! My element, it's water!" Hinata chirped up with excitement. "And water's actually even dripping onto the ground from the marble too...! Wow...!" Though Hinata Hyuga wasn't as outwardly expressive as her two best friends, even she couldn't help but be amazed by what she'd just done.

"Ugh.. it feels like I'm holding a clump of loose dirt or something..," followed up Anko with slightly mixed emotions reflected in her brown, pupiless eyes. Luckily, she wasn't one to get hung up on things for too long and just shrugged before concentrating a little harder on the glowing marble in her hand. "..Aanndd! There we go! Hah! Check it out, I got it to feel like a pebble instead! Go me!"

Lyner chuckled. "Quite impressive control and shape manipulation Anko. And a good way to demonstrate the fruits of your training. Very good, very good. Now then, what about you little Nats-"

"-WHOA! Check it out!" Natsuha cried out, hopping up and down while passing the glowing marble between her tiny hands, violet eyes sparkling with excitement. "It's glowing green and red, and it's kinda hot too! Like, windy hot!"

Lyner raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Well now, I had a feeling that'd be the case, but... And with a surprisingly complementary combination of elements too."

"Comple... what now? Um, it's not something bad, is it?" Natsuha asked, looking up at her Mister, eyes pleading.

Lyner shook his head, gently ruffling the little blonde's hair and eliciting little hums of happiness from the girl. "No. It's nothing bad, I promise; quite the opposite actually. Just as I mentioned earlier, it is possible for one to be born having more than one elemental affinity. In your case, wind and fire, which is a rather good combination too."

"It is?" Natsuha asked, tilting her head ever so slightly to the side.

Lyner nodded. "Now, this isn't set in stone but generally speaking, wind is considered to be weak against fire because, under the right conditions, wind will strengthen fire and thus tends to be overpowered by it. So by having both as your affinities, you not only can cover that weakness but make it your strength with the right skills."

Natsuha, being the simple and easy to please girl that she was, hopped up and down with joy at the possibilities of making super huge fireballs or fiery tornadoes of doom. "I knew I was super awesome, believe it!"

Anko, while happy for her ever excitable blonde best friend, couldn't help but roll her eyes at the twintails' antics. "...Dork. Anyway, between the three of us, we have four of the five basic elements huh? That's honestly pretty cool."

Hinata just giggled and nodded, especially taking in the sight of her blonde best friend continue to happily run around while playing with the warm and breezy glowing marble in her hands.

"What about you Mister? What's your elemental affinity?" Natsuha suddenly asked after finally calming down and looking up at her teacher and favorite person.

"Me? Hmm...," Lyner crossed his arms and took a moment to think about how best answer the excitable blonde. "Well, the closest I would have to an affinity is what shinobi would term as 'Yin release'. It's actually one of the five other 'ethereal' elements I mentioned earlier."

"Yin release?"

"Yes. Yin and Yang release are nature transformations related to the raw spiritual and physical energies that exist outside of the five basic physical elements. Generally speaking, along with basic elemental affinity or affinities, people are also born with a stronger yin or yang nature inclination which tends to dictate just what sort of techniques or skills that they might use or specialize in and how easily they learn them. For example, those with a stronger yang nature inclination will have an easier time mastering taijutsu and/or the medical ninjutsu while those with a stronger yin nature inclination will have an easier time learning genjutsu or other arts that that require the mind or the imagination," Lyner explained. "I'm not exactly the best with the illusionary arts, but I can do this," he added before producing a black chain seemingly out of thin air, prompting a wide range of reactions from the girls.

"Whoa... awesome! Hey, then do you think Hinata-chan could learn that medical jutsu stuff? I bet she totally could, y'know!?"

"Who knows, but I think she could if she really wanted to. After all, Hinata-chan's got the best control and is definitely the smartest between the three of us," Anko replied.

"...!" Hinata, meanwhile, just blushed and pushed her two index fingers together in shy embarrassment at her friends praise.

"...Hmm. That's not a bad idea actually, and I also agree she has the best aptitude for it. Also, it would certainly be a good idea to have a dedicated healer for the future," Lyner said, nodding in agreement and liking the idea more and more as he thought about it. "And while I'm no expert in the medical field, I still do know the basics and have a few healing and diagnostic artes that can at least help get her started. A shame that Miss Inada is no longer here with us since she was a real doctor and all."

Hinata quickly shook her head with a light blush on her pale cheeks, grateful that she'd be able to learn something so useful and that could really help her friends out in the future. "N, no. I would love to learn whatever y, you'd b, be willing to t, teach me, Mister!"

"Hey, hey! What about me Mister? I have a strong yang nature too!" Natsuha blurted out, remembering what her 'sister' had told her once during one of the many times they met since that first meeting over a year ago, not realizing that she'd said a bit more than she should have, eliciting said 'sister' to quietly groan and facepalm from within her mindscape. '...Natsuha, you idiot...' 'H, Hey! That's mean!'

"Unfortunately, your abnormally large ether reserves means that you will likely never attain the level of control needed to effectively learn any medical artes. That said, I do know a few ways around that using engraved seals. On the other hand, you will be able to learn a fair number of other skills I know that aren't as limited by ether cost and wouldn't be nearly as draining on you as it would for others. By the way, Natsuha, how did you know that you have a yang nature inclination?" Lyner asked, already having an idea, yet still wanting to hear the answer from the little blonde herself.

'...Crap!' '...Idiot.' "...Oh, ummm... Yeah, about that..."

"...We already know about that other red haired form of yours, just not what it is," Lyner said, beating the little blonde to the punch.

"...Oh, yeah. Bout that."

"Hey, yeah! What was that all about?" Anko asked, suddenly recalling that strange event from over a year ago. "I know nobody's said anything about it since we were busy training, studying, and because we agreed to keep it a secret from Miss Makami... but seriously, what was that all about?"

"...U, um... er..." 'Hey, what do I do?' '...' 'Well?' '...Just tell them about me already. Besides, it's not like you can talk your way out of it now, right?' '...Ugh... You're right, but...'

"...Um, Natsuha-chan...?" quietly began the little bluenette and interrupting the blonde and redhead's mental argument, index fingers pressed together in that odd little nervous habit of hers. "...Are you, are you a... a 'Jinchuuriki'?"

"...!" Whatever thoughts that were going through her head or words she might have said died right then and there as her violet eyes widened in utter shock as she stared back at the now clearly nervous and fidgeting little Hyuga doing her best to not look her way while hiding behind a clearly confused looking Anko who herself was looking back and forth between her two best friends, unsure what was going on but understanding that whatever it was, it was clearly big. Lyner, meanwhile, kept silent and just patiently waited until his apprentice and charge was ready to continue speaking.

"...Hinata...I, I..." Natsuha finally said an unusually quiet voice just barely above a whisper, head down and bangs shadowing her scared, violet eyes. After all, for all her outward and youthful bravado, she was still just a scared seven year old little girl terrified of being hated, losing her first ever friends and left all alone because of what she held. It took everything she had just to not run away and hide... '...'

Hinata gulped, doing her best to swallow her fear down before slowly exhaling a deep breath and repeating her question. "You're a Jinchuuriki, aren't you Natsuha-chan?"

"..."

To Hinata and Lyner though, her silence and shaking were as clear an answer as could be, as if she'd shouted it out loud even, and that alone was more than confirmation enough for them.

"Hey, what's a Jinchuuriki?" Anko asked.

"...It's, a term for those who have had a spirit, demon, or some other ethereal being sealed inside them, usually at birth and against their will... like the 'Nine Tailed Beasts'. They are, essentially 'living prisons' born of the power of human sacrifice who, in exchange, can use that sealed being's power..," Hinata explained, recalling some of the old books she'd read on the subject in her family's library during her rare moments of free time between lessons. Hanabi, on the other hand, preferred to play outside though.

"... 'Nine Tailed Beasts'...! Then, was that red haired form with the nine tails the... *gasp!* No way! The, the Kyuubi...!?"

"What's the Kyuubi?" Lyner asked, not having heard that term before now.

"The 'Kyuubi no Youko'. It was a giant fox like demon that attacked our home Village of Konoha roughly a century ago and once again before we were all born. It was said that the 4th Hokage, our leader at the time, defeated it once and for all at the cost of his life and the lives of the many shinobi who fought alongside him that night," Hinata explained, recalling the little that her father had told her. "But, Father and the other adults on the council never really talked about 'how' Lord Fourth defeated it, only that he did. So, if we take that knowledge and put it together with what we saw that night a year ago then..."

Finally, Natsuha nodded, unable to even try to deny the truth any longer. "...Yeah, the Kyuubi was sealed in me the night I was born, October 10th, seven years ago. Just before the last night I saw him, Jiji told me that there was something really important that he needed to tell me too, probably about me being a Jinchuuriki... But , well.. y'know... Anyway, I only found out the truth a year ago myself but, I just didn't know how to talk about it... So, so yeah..." It took every ounce of strength she had to keep from letting the fear of possible rejection from overwhelming her or the tears to just stream down her tiny, whiskered cheeks like an endless river.

"So, that really was the Kyuubi then!?" Anko asked again, eyes wide with surprise. She'd heard a lot of stories about the Kyuubi's attack from her father so was surprised that such a fearsome beast, and supposedly the strongest the the Nine Tailed Beasts no less, was not only defeated and sealed away, but sealed inside one of her best friends who was no older than her. It just seemed too unreal, but then again, she was at least a little familiar with things like storage scrolls and seals, having seen her father use them a few times in the past so didn't see it as totally outside the realm of possibility that even a great and powerful demon could be sealed away if done with enough skill. In short, neither of them would ever confuse the scroll for the kunai it held. Still, there was a difference between knowing that it could be done, and seeing the real thing with your own eyes. Their teacher, on the other hand, was as unflappable as ever and didn't seem to care about it either way. Hinata and Anko were honestly amazed that nothing, not even something as amazing as this, seemed to get under their Mister's skin no matter how crazy the truth in front of him was.

"I wonder if that sealed being is why your ether reserves are so abnormally large for a girl your age.. By the way, can you talk to this Kyuubi?"

Natsuha didn't answer right away, instead just staring at her Mister and two best friends with her big, teary violet eyes. Though she never let it show and rarely, if ever, said anything about it herself, Natsuha was honestly dreading how her friends and teacher would react to knowing the truth, especially since she had the ability to sense the emotions of those around her. It's what allowed her to quickly understand that why the villagers suddenly began treating her the way they did, not that it necessarily made it any easier to deal with sometimes. Of course, while she knew that Hinata and Anko wouldn't hate her for what she was burdened with, she could still feel their surprise and slight wariness towards the Kyuubi inside her. Her Mister, on the other hand, was just... different. There wasn't anything there at all. No fear, no anger, no resentment, not even any surprise. It was ll just... blank. It was so strange that all she could do was ask him and, once and for all, learn how he felt. "...Aren't you, aren't you scared? Scared of me?"

"Why would I be? You aren't this Kyuubi, but its sealing vessel, yes? If anything, I'm impressed that one so young has been able to to smile and live as cheerfully as you have even ins spite of the burden forced on you. A feat that I think takes real strength to do. Anyway, I'm more curious about this Kyuubi and the engraving method used to seal away such a supposedly fearsome and terrible beast... Can you communicate with it? Can it it communicate with us, like that time a year ago?"

"...Na, Natsuha-chan? Are you okay?" Hinata asked with genuine concern, unsure of what to make of that scared, unsure look on the normally cheerful, twintailed blonde's whiskered face.

"Yeah, you okay? If it's about the whole Jinchuuriki thing or whatever, then don't even worry about it. You're still our best friend and that's not gonna change just because of something you didn't even have any control over. You're not Kyuubi to us, just Natsuha," Anko said, doing her best to try and reassure the blonde that nothing would change between them.

"...!" Before she knew it, the dam had burst and warm and wet tears began running down her cheeks along with the overwhelming feeling of relief and happiness that came from not only seeing that none of her precious people rejected her, but felt the same about her as they did before. It was all too much for her to fully process, especially considering the life she'd lived up until that fateful night a year ago. 'Well now. They took it all in much better than you thought they would, didn't they? Anyway, why don't you take a moment to rest and let me handle things for a bit.' 'Huh?' 'Just that things would likely go smoother if I explained the situation, that's all.' 'Oh, um, okay. Thanks.' 'It's fine. Besides, they've already seen me once before right? They shouldn't get too surprised seeing me again. Alright just relax, close your eyes, and let me handle the rest.' '...Yeah, okay.'

Just as Lyner and the others were about to go and check in on the now silent little blonde, they suddenly felt a sudden, yet strangely familiar shift in the air around them after the little blonde suddenly went quiet after closing her eyes.

"...Hmm? Well now, seems we'll be meeting this Kyuubi sooner than expected... Which answers my earlier question then, at least. It seems that our little Natsuha can talk to it, and not just that either," muttered the grey haired sorcerist to himself as he calmly observed the current situation playing out in front of him.

"Does anything ever seem to bother you, Mister? I mean, I know she saved us and all, but that's still the Kyuubi," Anko deadpanned, amazed at how little seemed to phase the older man.

"...Um, I think it'll be fine," Hinata said, choosing to believe in her friend and what she's seen with her own eyes. "Besides, Mister not letting anything get to him is what makes him so cool, right? At least, that's what I like about him anyway..." The little bluenette couldn't help but trail off there at the end, looking down and even blushing ever so slightly. Thankfully, neither Anko or Lyner noticed, being too focused on the slowly changing blonde in front of them.

"...I guess. Oh, look, it's happening just like last time!"

And, just like the last time it happened, Natsuha's long, twintailed locks began to darken and slowly shift into a vibrant red while her healthy, sun kissed and tanned skin paled to a delicate, almost porcelain white. Finally, and most striking of all, were how her expressive violet eyes that were normally so full of emotion flashed crimson red before lightening into an otherworldly golden yellow that now seemed to faintly glow and reflect a sense of calm and control along with the nine, phantom-like fox tails that took shape before lazily swaying gently behind her as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"...Wow...!" was all Hinata could say. This may have been the second time she'd seen it, but the first time that she could see the transformation unclouded and without fear of being kidnapped, killed, or worse. As for Anko and Lyner...

"Seriously. I can't believe how our dear Natsuha-chan went from being our favorite hyperactive, dumb blonde to this scarily calm redheaded demon fox girl with glowing yellow eyes of doom...! Hey, I wonder if I could learn to do something super cool like that."

"...Fascinating. Is this sort of transformation normal with, what did Hinata call them... Jinchuuriki? Or this form unique to our little Natsuha..?"

Luckily, the fox girl herself decided to give him a clear answer, feeling that it'd be a good enough way to break the ice.

"I can't speak for any of the other Jinchuuriki, but yes. This is a form unique to Natsuha and myself."

"So I take it that you are this Kyuubi no Youko then? Oh, and do you actually have a name? And I'm also guessing that you already know our names, I take it?"

The red haired fox girl nodded. "Wll, as far as that goes, you can just call me 'Natsuha' too."

"...Wait, what? That's just going to be really confusing y'know!" Anko lightly protested before turning to Hinata. "Right, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata shyly nodded. "A, a little, yes."

'Natsuha', meanwhile, just shrugged. "Not my problem. He asked for my name and I gave it. Simple as that."

"...Ugh."

"So, to what do we owe the pleasure then, Miss 'Natsuha'?"

"Shouldn't it be obvious? The Hyuga girl there successfully guessed that my 'sister' was a Jinchuuriki while you two didn't seem to care that I, the Kyuubi no Youko, was sealed inside her. I suppose I just wanted to meet you all and explain things myself. By the way, this girl, who I think of as my 'sister', was quite happy that you accepted her. Now then, this could take awhile so let's get started, shall we?"

- A little earlier, just before the 'red haired Natsuha' made her appearance -

In the forest near the lake where Natsuha and the others happened to be training their ether/chakra control at.

"...Hmm..." Turning over the light blue and purple flower in one hand, while looking through her father's old notebook in the other, the young bespectacled red haired and red eyed Karin Uzumaki was satisfied she'd found the perfect ingredient for the latest medicinal salve she'd been working on. "This 'Adder flower' should do just the trick for increasing this latest batch's healing properties... Anyway, I should be getting back to Mama and the others no-...Huh?" '...What, the... heck is that...!?'

While she inherited her love of the medical arts from her Uzumaki father, Karin inherited her innate sensory abilities from her mother which, right now, were picking up on something absolutely huge coming from relatively nearby.

"...?" 'Yeah, this it totally a bad idea isn't it? Oh well, too late to do anything about it now I guess...'

Perhaps it was due to a combination of her childish nature and scholarly curiosity, but Karin Uzumaki couldn't help but be drawn towards and want to try and figure out just what that strange feeling was all about. So, before she realized what was even happening, the little redhead simply let her sensor's instincts guide her and her feet do the rest.

...

After ten or so minutes of carefully making her way towards the source of that strange and powerful chakra presence, Karin suddenly felt three other chakra sources nearby as well, apparently drowned out by the larger, more powerful fourth presence. Thankfully, and even in spite of what was going on, Karin had enough sense to make sure she still had the presence concealment seal her mother gave her before quickly hiding behind a large, nearby tree. However, what she saw after finally getting enough courage to take a peek would go beyond anything even in her wildest fantasies.

'...Nine, tails...!?'

A little over a dozen feet away, under the light of a midsummer's clear afternoon sky, stood a red haired, twintailed girl with light, almost snow white skin who looked to be about her own age, around seven or so. More shocking than that though, even beyond the nine, phantom like tails that she had lazily swaying without a care in the world, was that this strange girl was the source of that very mysterious and powerful chakra she sensed earlier. It was restrained and suppressed. Then after staring at the girl for a moment longer, she couldn't help notice the strange resemblance between her and the stories her late father told her of the Nine Tailed Beasts but didn't quite know why... at least not immediately. But, when she did, Karin couldn't help but gasp in surprise and feel her eyes widen at the absurdity of the thought running through her head at that very moment.

"...The Kyuubi no Youko...!"

Perhaps it was fear or awe, but regardless of whichever it was, Karin had unintentionally slipped up and spoke her thoughts aloud. True it was barely above a whisper, but to the being in front of her, that was more than loud enough and, by the time she realized her mistake, it was already far too late; she'd been spotted.

'...Oh, crap...!'

Their eyes locked as a pair of otherworldly, golden yellow eyes held Karin frozen in place with their calm, piercing gaze.

- Back with Lyner and the others -

Just before 'Natsuha' was about to begin her explanation, she suddenly turned around to face the group of large trees opposite the lake and behind her and the others.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Lyner asked, carefully following the girl's movements with his own amber colored eyes.

"...Don't act like you didn't notice. If anything, I'm surprised you chose to ignore our little eavesdropper," replied the golden redhead without looking back or taking her gaze off one large tree in particular. "Why?"

The older, grey haired and amber eyed man just shrugged. "They didn't seem to be any real threat so I just didn't think it was worth fussing over. Besides, the reason they're probably even here is because of you."

'Natsuha' just snorted. "...Hmph. So? What should we do about them?"

"Call them over. Better than picking a fight we don't need to deal with and the girls clearly aren't ready for, right?"

"Hey, what are you two talking about?" Anko asked, finally plucking up the courage to try and figure out what was going on, Hinata nodding her agreement right next to her.

"Oh, well... if we're lucky, you'll all be meeting a new friend," Lyner replied with sheepish little smirk. "At the very least, it's not someone we really need to worry about, especially with your teacher and this Kyuubi girl here."

Without another word, the crimson haired faux fox girl simply waved her left hand forward and sent out a single crimson chain in the direction of where the little eavesdropper was hiding. A moment later, she, Lyner, Hinata, and Anko heard the small but distinct squeak of a very surprised and scared little girl.

"Well, that was easy enough. Now to reel in and meet our little guest."

xxx xxx xxx

"...Eep!"

Before she could even register what had just happened, Karin soon found herself wrapped up in a crimson red chain and quickly pulled toward the other redheaded nine tailed faux fox girl before unceremoniously being dropped in front of said faux fox girl with a grassy little plop.

"...Hoh? Well now, I didn't expect this," calmly remarked the golden eyed, twintailed redhead looking down on a now very frightened, wide eyed and shocked into stunned silence Karin. "To think that our little eavesdropper would be a young Uzumaki lass. So, what's your name? Oh, and you can call this one Natsuha, Natsuha Uzumaki."

...

"...Huh?" was all the young bespectacled Uzumaki girl could 'say' after her brain finally managed to reboot from the shock of everything that just happened.

"Like I said, this one's name is Natsuha Uzumaki. A pleasure to meet you by the way;" repeated the mysterious vixen with a little smirk, quite amused by the dumbstruck look on the other redhead's face.

"Whoa, I think you broke her," Anko remarked as she poked the now frozen stiff as a board Karin while doing her absolute best to not just burst out laughing at how silly the bespectacled girl looked.

"...Uzumaki? Does that mean she's related to Natsuha-chan then?" Hinata asked, recalling some of the stories her father told her about the once great Uzumaki Clan of the now lost and fallen Land of Whirlpools and Uzushio, the 'Village Hidden Among the Whirling Tides'.

"Oh, right! I heard from Papa once that their Clan's symbol is on our chunin and jonin armor as a sign of respect and reminder of the oath Konoha failed to keep to one of its oldest allies," Anko added, noticing the little red spiral on the collar of the still near catatonic redhead in front of them. "Anyway, what are we gonna do about her? I mean, we can't really leave her like this, can we?"

Lyner nodded, arms crossed and seriously pondering the matter, completely agreeing that they couldn't just leave things as they were, especially with the Kyuubi now partially manifested as she was. Then, after a moment of seemingly serious thought, a very odd idea came to him; one that might really only work with an Uzumaki... assuming that Natsuha's appetite accurately represented the clan anyway. "...Well, why not stick a piping hot bowl of ramen in front of her and go from there?"

Needless to say, their Mister's suggestion elicited a wide range of reactions from his three charges/apprentices.

"...Snrk! Ahahahahaha! W, wow! Th, That might actually be crazy enough to work!" Anko conceded while rolling on the grass and laughing her head off remembering that very strategy had actually worked on the blonde a few times in the past.

"...Oh, Mister. Really?" Hinata, on the other hand, couldn't help but shake her head. 'Still, I can't actually deny that that plan might actually work either...' And, as for the redheaded vixen currently in control of her blonde best friend? Well...

'Natsuha' just shrugged. "Why not? My last two Jinchuuriki vessels were Uzumaki too, and they also absolutely loved the stuff. Maybe not as much as my dear sister, but they still ate at least two or three bowls at a time whenever they got the chance."

"Well, good thing I made sure to bring extra bowls then. Hope this girl likes spicy food though."

- Meanwhile, from within the twilit hill of Natsuha's mindscape -

"Nnnnooooo! My ramen...! NOT MY EXTRA SPICY PORK RRRAAAMMMMEEENNN!"

xxx xxx xxx

A/N:

And done!

And thus begins the girls' training!

While I do plan to make everyone much stronger here than their canon counterparts, I also want to stress that they won't get there anytime soon. Remember, these girls are still only seven years old and, with the exception of Hinata, haven't had much in the way of shinobi training or a formal education so yeah, they need to build up the basics and get the bare minimum of physical conditioning needed to even start doing even the easy training, hence why they hadn't started til fairly recently. Conversely, they'll be at a much better place in the long run.

Anyway, they met Karin now and Natsuha will learn that she has family, so yay!

Well, I hope you enjoyed and see you next release!