I probably should have said when this story takes place earlier but I'll do it now. This story takes place in between Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden but closer to Shippuden. I don't think I'm going to include Naruto in the story, if you want me to have him appear just let me know.

Enjoy : )

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~~~~~~~~ Unknown Village in the Land of Fire ~~~~~~~~ Next Day 11:00 AM~~~~~~~~~~

Asami and Misaki

Misaki POV

"What about Suna?" Asami asks, bent over the large map that spills over the small, cheap table.

I shoot her a disgusted look and shake my head. Ew, sand… "H-hot." My mouth is clumsy around the words but I get them out anyway.

She crinkles her nose in agreement, "You're right. We need to find a place we can be happy at. Too much sand for my taste." She goes back to her searching.

I stare at the small scar on her chin. It's an old scar, from when we were children but I still remember that day as if it happened yesterday.

Flashback:

I stare at the forest floor and sniffle. I wipe a streak of snot from my nose with the back of hand. Why did Otousan have to be so mean? It's not my fault I don't like fighting.

"Hello?" I gasp as the sound of the voice and huddle closer to my tree, hiding myself against the large, oversized roots. It I get caught here I would be in so much trouble. Otousan would be mad and if the Claws find me I'll be dead.

"Hel-lo?" The voice yells, bouncing off the trees. "I heard someone crying, are you alright? Where are you?"

I tense when I hear the person stepping close by. It sounds like a girl. It's just a girl, I shouldn't be threatened by some girl. I'm the daughter of the Fang daimyo, I'm important. Summoning up all the strength I have, I peek over the top of the root to spy on the stranger.

She's about my age, but a lot taller than me. Her dark brown hair is cut short and she resembles a boy. It takes me a moment to decide whether she is he or not but when she faces me I see them: two big, wide brown eyes, rimmed with thick lashes. She's so pretty.

She doesn't notice me. She has her fists planted on her hips and she looks around the woods. "Person? I heard you crying. I want to know if you're okay?"

I press closer to the tree and quietly try to move back to my hiding spot but my foot snaps a twig and I shoot back down to hide from view.

"Found you!" I hear her run to where I'm at but I keep against tree. Maybe if I keep still I can become invisible and she won't find me… I hear her laugh, "Finally. I was starting to wonder if I was going crazy." She kneels down next to me and puts a hand on my shoulder. I flinch at her touch and she doesn't approve of that. "Oh, come now, I'm not going to hurt you. I promise, cross my heart and hope to die."

I glance over my shoulder at her and she only smiles at me. Her big brown eyes shine at me and she holds out her hand. "My name is Asami. What's yours?"

I panic a little. What do I do? If I don't say anything she'll think I'm a freak like Otousan. But if I try to speak and it all comes out wrong then I'll look stupid.

As I have my little internal struggle, Asami sees my hesitation. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. It was you who was crying, wasn't it?"

I nod but I see the hurt in Asami's eyes. She actually wants to know who I am? I swallow and point to my mouth and make an X with my arms.

Her eyes twinkle with excitement and amusement. "You have a bad taste in your mouth?"

I shake my head and point to my throat and make a choking sound.

She smiles. "You threw up? You're choking?" She laughs, "You're choking on throw up?"

I laugh and shake my head 'no'. This time I point to my mouth and shrug.

It seems to click this time and smile fades. "You can't talk?"

I nod and smile.

But she doesn't smile, instead she asks sadly. "Can you tell me something? Are you from the Land of the Fang?"

My heart plummets into my stomach. Should I lie to her? Guiltily I nod.

Asami looks like she's going to cry but she glares at me and stands. "Well I'm a Claw and Otousan told me that the Fangs and the Claws are mortal enemies and must never cross paths. Otousan says that whenever a Claw and Fang meet, only one must walk away alive."

I stare up at her with wide, scared eyes. She was going to kill me? Just because I was a Fang?

She crosses her arms. "You're the Fang daimyo's mute daughter, aren't you?"

I feel the tears gather in my eyes and I nod again.

"This means that we're enemies by blood. We have to fight to the death." Asami quickly grabs a stick laying on the ground and faces me. "Choose your weapon."

I shake my head at her. I don't want to fight, it's wrong.

She growls at me. "You have to fight me."

I shake my head and push myself up to a wobbly stand. I don't want to fight. I don't want another enemy. I'm tired of people hating me for who I am. I suddenly realize that in the back of my head I was hoping that Asami could be my friend.

"Yes, you do. Fangs love to fight so fight me!" She shoves the stick in my hands.

I don't want it so I shove it back. She pushes it at me again and it becomes a battle of refusing the stick. We both force the stick at each other, fighting against one another. At some point we both wind up on the ground, rolling around and pinning each other down.

In the heat of the moment I accidentally hit the stick with my elbow. It shoots up and cracks Asami on the chin. She yelps in pain and falls off of me, holding her jaw in pain. "OW! You did that on purpose!" She glares at me with tears in her eyes and I see the blood.

I shake my head at her accusation. It was an accident. I want to scream at her, yell at her, do anything to convince her to leave me alone and go away.

"I'm going to kill you!" She raises the stick up high, ready to strike. Her eyes still look more sad than they do angry and I can see tears in them.

I panic and raise my arms high to defend myself. I feel myself scream, "I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT!"

Her stick stops in mid-attack and she stares at me with wide eyes. "What did you say?"

I feel wetness on my cheeks and I lower my arms. I stare back at her with as much bravery as I can. "I-I d-don't w-want t-t-to f-fight-t y-you."

She's still stunned but she asks in curiosity, "Why not?"

"I-I h-have n-n-no r-reas-son t-to." I swallow, still a bit afraid that she'll hit me.

"I'm a Claw and you're a Fang, that's all the reason you need." She tries to look mean but I can still see the confusion in her eyes.

I shake my head at her and swallow my cowardly-ness. I take the stick from her hands and drop it.

She tightens her fists at her sides. "But our fathers are sworn enemies. Our lands hate each other."

"S-so?" I smile at her.

She looks absolutely shocked. "So? So we should hate each other."

I shrug, "W-why?"

Her eyebrows knit in confusion. "Because our father's hate each other."

"S-so?" I cross my arms and smile wider, reveling in my new idea. "J-just b-bec-cause they d-don't l-like eac-ch oth-her, d-doesn't mean w-we c-can't be f-f-friend-ds."

I see her visibly relax and take in my words. "Yes it does." She pushes some leaves around with her foot and crosses her arms like me. "If Otousan found out I was friends with a Fang," she laughs, "his head would explode."

I laugh with her, imagining my own father's reaction at a possible friendship with a Claw. Otousan would probably turn purple at the news. "My n-name is M-misak-ki M-Mori." I hold out my hand to her.

She stares at the limb for a long time before take it in her own hand. "The name's Asami. Asami Kimura."

I grin widely at her, "P-peace?"

She laughs. "Peace. We're in the Borderlands anyway so," she rocks on her feet, "technically, right here in this spot, I'm not a Claw."

I laugh. "And-d I'm-m n-not a F-Fang."

End Flashback

"Earth to Mimo." A hand is waved in front of my face and I'm brought back to reality. Asami smiles at me. "What about going to the Land of Earth? Otousan used to say that Iwagakure was pretty."

I laugh and shake my head. "S-stric-ct."

She lets out an exasperated sigh. "At this rate, we'll never figure it out."

I take a look at the map. "L-land of Wat-ter?"

Asami blushes and bites her lip. "I can't…exactly… Well it's kind of complicated but it's not my fault. I never really… learned how to swim."

I tap my nails against the table before pointing to the Land of Lightning. Asami looks at my choice and we stare at each other. Simultaneously we shake our head "no". Asami takes another glance at the map before hesitantly saying. "What about Kohona? It's supposed to be really pretty there and it's a huge town, so maybe we won't stick out as much."

I nod in agreement. "C-closer t-too."

She laughs. "Lazy." She takes the map in her hands. "Well if we leave now, we could probably get there in a few days."

I smile at her, excited. Soon we could start our new lives, our new, happy lives. "K-kohon-na m-makes the b-best r-ramen-n in the w-world."

Asami rolls up the map and rolls her eyes. "Of course they do."

~~~~~~~~ Land of Claws ~~~~~~~~ 11:00 AM ~~~~~~~~~

Claw Daimyo and Asao Kimura

3rd Person POV

"Have you found her yet?" The brown-haired man asks the young shinobi, thrumming his fingers on the arm of his chair in both anger and impatience.

"No, Otousan. There's no trace of Asami anywhere in the Land of Claws or the Borderlands." The young shinobi swallows hard, the hawk on his shoulder shifts uncomfortably in the Daimyo's presence.

The Daimyo let's out an angry breath. "Then search for her! Search the Land of Fangs, search the countryside! Go and find her even if it means upturning every commoner's filthy hut! Find her!" He strides up to the young man and grabs him by the front of his shirt, pulling him to face level. "Or I will hunt her down and kill her myself."

"Y-yes, Otousan." The young man shivers in fear. The hawk on his shoulder hangs on for dear life.

The older man sets him back onto his feet. "I refuse to let that wench shame me any further. You bring your sister back here, even if you have to drag her back by her hair."

"Understood, Sir." With that the young man strides out of the room, eager to be out of his father's path of rage.

The Claw Daimyo returns to his seat. "I will put that girl in her place, no matter what it takes."

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So? How'd I do? Did you like it? : ) I hope so. REVIEW, COMMENT! Please? I need to know how I'm doing and if I need to fix anything.

Otousan means father btw

Thank you for reading btw. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!