As the gray wolf lunged at Keiko, the cat tamer snarled, dropping to all fours.

Kakashi barked, a warning; if she did what he thought she would, this would not end well. Keiko smiled sadistically, eyes narrowing to slits as she shook her body. The next time Kakashi blinked, a black panther crouched in front of him.

Oh, she did not just do that.

Michio screamed harshly as his head was jerked roughly to the side. A shinobi smiled viciously at the blue-haired Genin as he licked the bare neck, before biting down harshly. Blood slid down the pale neck, and the shinobi lapped at it like a cat would to milk.

Daichi threw a kunai at the shinobi, successfully drawing his attention from Michio. Kakashi whined low in his throat, wanting to go help out, but knowing that he had to take care of Keiko.

What are you thinking about, puppy? Keiko asked through her thoughts. Kakashi wasn't surprised that she could communicate the same way he could. Their families were, after all, closely related in some ways.

Wouldn't you like to know? Kakashi threw back at her.

Yeah, I would, she snarled at him. The panther launched herself at him, and he dodged, sliding to the side.

Kakashi didn't attack Keiko, sticking to dodging as the past came back to him in bits and pieces.

The first time he changed.

The time he learned who his mother really was.

The time he met Keiko, and learned who she really was.

The last one he lingered on for far too long. The first time he met Keiko, he had been hiding outside her house. She had interrogated him, then invited him in for lunch with her family.

"Kakashi, you said your name was?" Keiko said, pouring drinks into his and Yoshiyuki's cups. "Really? I feel like I know you from somewhere."

Kakashi chuckled nervously. "I'm fairly popular at home. Maybe you've heard of my fantastic abilities," he tried weakly, avoiding telling her the truth—that he was a feared shinobi all over the five nations.

"Huh. Well, I'm Keiko Yazuma; you've already met Yoshiyuki, and our son Daisuke is sleeping right now," Keiko said, but Kakashi had frozen.

Yazuma. That was his mother's maiden name. His family, which had been slaughtered because someone was scared of their ability to change into the wolves. The family he had never gotten to know, because all of them were gone by the time he was four. He hadn't known there were any other Yazuma's besides him.

"Y-Yazuma?" he repeated.

She smiled. "Yes. Almost my entire clan was slaughtered, but that was the main branch, the one in Konoha. We had much smaller branches all over the five nations, and we all have a different ability. The wolf ability is nearly extinct, my sister has told me. But the other branches are thriving, because no one knows we're related to the main branch."

"O-Other branches?"

"Yes. I'm from the feline branch. We can turn into one of many felines, depending on our personality. I'm a panther," Keiko said, oblivious to the mixed emotions going through Kakashi.

He still had family! Sure, it was distant family, but he still had family!

God, this mission was going to be hard to complete now that he knew he was related to these people.

Kakashi tore himself out the past, concentrating on the fight as Keiko managed to bite his shoulder. He shook her off, backing away.

Keiko, he whined. Can't we talk about this like adults?

No, she hissed. We can't. I thought you were my friend, yet you were only there because of a mission. If you had never come, my family would still be alive!

Keiko, Kakashi pleaded. Please. You know that deep down inside, you want to hear my reasoning for what I did to you. Please, just give me five minutes.

Keiko bared her teeth, showing anger, but her bright golden eyes showed that she did want to hear his words.

Fine, she said. Five minutes.

Keiko, he started. You know that I'm from the Hatake clan on my father's side.

Yeah. She frowned as much as a panther could.

Well, my mother was a Yazuma. Kina Yazuma. As you can clearly see from my wolf form, Kakashi said, shaking his fur to make his point. Keiko tilted her head to the side, black fur shining in the fading sunlight.

Kina Yazuma? she repeated. I know her…

You probably do. Anyways, she married my dad and had me. When the Yazuma clan was slaughtered, no one knew that I was a Yazuma, because my name was Hatake.

So when you say your mother died when you were young… Keiko trailed off.

No. She died on her first ANBU mission when I was two. She didn't die in the massacre.

Oh. Keiko was still crouching, but her tense muscles under the sleek fur had relaxed, telling Kakashi that she wasn't sure what to feel now.

But then…? Keiko asked, trailing off.

Why did I kill your family? Kakashi finished. The panther nodded. My sensei needed someone to do the job, and I didn't know I was related to you when I took the mission. I think he was hoping that I wouldn't find out.

Kakashi lay down, dropping a paw over his muzzle miserably. And I might not have known that there were other Yazuma's if I hadn't met you.

So what you're saying is…if you hadn't met me, you wouldn't have known we were related? Keiko clarified.

Exactly.

Oh.

Silence reined again, Keiko mulling over this new information, and Kakashi trying to gather his thoughts.

Keiko, he said. The young woman lifted her head to gaze at him. What I did to you really did affect me. I really had started to care about you four, but if I hadn't been able to do it, Minato-sensei would have sent someone far more ruthless than I.

Keiko said nothing for a long time, her golden eyes far away as she contemplated everything he had said.

Okay, she finally whispered. I believe you. I sure as hell don't forgive you yet, but we might be able to become friends again in time.

A/N: Okay! Keiko is not on a rampage anymore! Kakashi has more family. Yay!

Anyways, I'm doing this with my other story. For this story, whoever is the 50th reviewer will get a oneshot dedicated to them! They can choose the plot, characters, anything they want in it. So review review review!