A little girl sat under a small cherry tree that over looked HARUKO. She wore a pure white kimono. Her hair still in the wind as though waiting for the cherry blossoms that will soon bloom throughout Haruko. Her eyes shown brightly in the setting sun. It was only days from the begin of the sakura festivals. A few days from her and her twin brother's birthday.

"Kasumi… I see you passing the time by again." The girl turned to find a child who looked just like her.

"What are you doing up here in that Natsu and in one of your festival kimono's none the less?"

"Momma told me to put it on before I came to get you… she said, 'go get your sister and bring her back at once, we are having very honorable guests visiting us.' She had nanna dress me up in this." Natsu were a pure white kimono with light pink sakura blossoms and light icy blue trimming. His sandals were light pink with icy blue trimming as well. His hair was done nicely in a cinnamon bun with one single pony tail braid comming its center and lightly resting on one shoulder. His hair brushed against his ankles as he moved.

"Is that what our outfit looks like?" the boy looked down and with a sigh said,

"Yeah…." Kasumi stood and stretched.

Natsu and Kasumi stepped out into the hall way holding hands. They walked down the long hallway each holding a candle in their free hand. Natsu held an icy blue candle and Kasumi held a little pink one. The two went through the door to find hordes of people surrounding a group of people in the center. There stood a man, a woman and two young boys. 0ne looked about their age one and he was sleeping in the woman's arms and the other clung onto her looked to be about 8 or 9. Off to them were two other boys. One a little older than the one boy and the other about 16. Behind them stood another man. They twins looked at each other then looked back as a voice shouted,

"Hey mom… Natsu and Kasumi are done now." At once all of the boys and girls came surrounding them in "awe"s and

"How cute!"s. the two clung tighter together and stepped back shyly. They soon bumped into something firm. They looked up to see a young 7 year old boy. He smiled down and they smiled back as a female's voice chimed

"Ah… Hotaru…Natsu…Kasumi come… come meet our honored guests." Hotaru was the first to head towards them.

The young woman looked back again to find Natsu staring back with Kasumi frozen stiff

"Kasumi… Natsu come on It's alright…" Kasumi shock her head Natsu looked back at the woman and stepped back until he was but her side. The woman sighed and said

"I'm sorry… it's just we don't get guests from past the forests very often. And those two wont do anything with out the other… I'm afraid they are afraid of you…" Kasumi shook her head violently to were her braid wiped wildly around as though she knew what was about to happen.

"Hotaru…. Can you please get them over here?"

"I'm sorry mom they won't move and you know it…." The woman smile then slowly stood the little boy on the ground. She held him until he looked up into her smiling face.

After the woman let go the boy plopped on his butt and stared cold into the air in front of him. Until he had saw the twins, that is. The boy crawled over to them and stared at them. Natsu glared back as Hasumi tightened. With out any warning the boy grabbed Natsu's braid and pulled. Every franticly tried to get him to let go.

It was in the middle of the night, and the first night of the sakura festival. Kasumi and Natsu danced around with Hotaru. The little boy was happily in his mother's arms. His brother and the other two boys sat happily filling their bellies with all of the treats and beverages placed before them. Soon after the guests left for the forest line again.

Screams filled the air. Kasumi shot-up to find herself in a blazing room. She screamed

"Natsu…. Natsu the room is on…" She looked over to find the half of the bed on which Natsu slept was empty franticly she looked around shouting "NATSU WHERE ARE YOU?" Kasumi carefully maneuvered through the room and out of the room and started carefully looking around the house. After about fifteen minutes she gave up and stepped out side. She looked around to find every thing wet, houses on fire and her local villagers on the ground motionless. She ran through the village trying to wake everyone up but with no luck. She soon found herself meeting the "Guests of honor" with tears in her eyes the boy held his brother and said

"Ar…are they dead daddy?" The man frowned down at the girl and said

"What are we going to do with you….your either the to scared to meet us or the one our son attacked…" Kasumi quietly said

"Where's Natsu?" They all looked at her shocked. She spoke a little louder

"NATSU…. WHERE IS NATSU……NATSU…." The woman pulled her in a warm embrace as Kasumi struggled

"Let me go…. You all reek… the only one who does not reek of death and decay is him." She pointed to the little boy who she met earlier. "now tell me what did you do to them…were is my parents and brothers." They all looked puzzled the boy said

"Brothers but I only saw one…"

"Don't be stupid… I'm the only girl in my family other than my mom. Hotaru is my oldest brother and Natsu is my older twin brother. Now where are they?" the two boys glared and said

"You pretty smart for a infant."

"I'm not an infant, Im three years old…and the youngest and the only female to attend ninja school here. Natsu and I are both able to take the chunnin exam and could if we were of age that is." They all looked at her dumb founded. It's not every day that you find a 3 year old who can take like a sophisticated adult.

"Now what is going on why wont they wake up and w…" the woman said

"Calm down… we found all, but your… brother Natsu…and…. Sweetheart do you know what death is?"

"Of course that is when one passes on to join all of the other villagers in the heavenly Maru village. That is how we got our village's name."

"Have you ever seen death before?"

"…No…..momma said it isn't lady like to see such things. Nor to do such things… I only am aloud because that is the only way to get Natsu to g….Why do you ask?" She bent down and said

"Because … that is what happened… they have all went to… MARU." Shock over took the girl as she looked at each one of their faces.

The little boy able her age got down from his brother and walked up to her holding out his hand."

"Where is Natsu?" He pointed to the bloody river just at the bottom of the hill. Tear freely filled her face as she shook her head. The man said…

"Dear you take the kid out of here we will take care of the bodies and meet up with you later… So your name… would be Kasumi… am I right?" the girl stood frozen in shock. The woman side and picked her and the little saying

"Let's go… dear don't take to long…" at that they left the two men there.

The two men meet up with them on the other side of the mountain forest two days later. The eldest man went up to the girl, who now laid sleeping in his wife's arms, and said

"Hi… we've buried them all.. we even made a death bed for her and her brother."

"What did.."

"Their bodies were never found and was believed to have burnt in their village house or killed in the river. So how is she?"

"She hasn't spoken a word…and she seems to still be in shock."

"I'm sure once we get her a new home she will be just fine… I just hope she doesn't remember this."

SORRY, I TOOK SO LONG WORK'S BEEN TIGHT BUT HEY IT IS STILL GOOD BUT IT WILL BE LONGER BECAUSE I AM HAVING TROUBLE DECIDING ON WHICH OF THE TWO CH2'S TO CHOOSE. SO PLEASE BARE WITH ME I ONLY HAVE ONE EDITOR RIGHT NOW.G2G THANX BYE.