Naruto: age 5
Naruto was worried about his new friends. He had been moved into the Hakuo clan guest house a few months ago when the orphanage had kicked him out. He had become closer to all of them since then. And a few weeks ago, Kira and Serena along with their parents had left. Ronen, Kira's cousin and the clan's blacksmith, had stayed behind to watch over him while they were gone. Ronen had not told him where they had gone, only that they had left for an important reason and would come back as soon as they could.
The other Hakuo children had visited several times with their parents. None of the other kids knew what was going on, but they were as worried as he was. They had told him that when their parents had went to ask Ronen were Rina and Kenji were, they had come back home looking very concerned.
Unfortunately, his worst fears were confirmed when his friends came back home. Kenji had been poisoned on a mission, a few days before they had left. Rina had taken him to a village she called "the Void" in the hopes that they could cure him. Although they were able to prolong his life for a few more days, giving his daughters time to say goodbye, they hadn't been able to stop the poison from killing him.
As upset as he was about Kenji's death, he knew that Kira and Serena must feel at least ten times worse about their father's death. Sometimes he could hear them crying in another room. He never knew whether he was should go in there and comfort them or pretend he hadn't heard anything. He knew that some people got embarrassed if others saw them crying.
Ronen's mother, Yumiko, temporarily moved back into the compound to help out with the housework. Yumiko said that Rina needed time to deal with her grief. At the moment, Rina seemed to lack the energy to do everything that she used to.
Yumiko seemed to know he wanted to help and invited him to cook dinner with her. "Everyone should learn how to cook eventually," she said. "You're a bit too young to use a knife, but you can help me add the ingredients to the pot. Let me know if it starts to boil over."
At dinner that night, he tried to cheer Kira and Serena up. He talked about his day and anything else that came to mind. Serena smiles for a moment, so he thinks it must be working, even if only a little. And although Kira doesn't smile, she no longer looks like she's about to cry. Rina, though, just sits there with a blank look on her face. Eventually, Yumiko has to coax her into eating. He hopes she starts to feel better soon. He doesn't think the girls can handle losing their mother as well.
A few days later, they have a visitor. He's a few years older than Kira and introduces himself as Itachi. Naruto isn't sure what to think about him, but he does manage to make Kira smile, so he's probably an okay person.
Kira, age 9: April
Kira can hardly believe the news when she hears it. Just last year their father had died because of a mission...and now their mother was dead too. Mother had left four days ago, saying she should be back within a week; it was just a simple escort mission. But they had been attacked by missing-nin. Mother's client had been traveling with something worth a lot of money. The client hadn't wanted to give his possessions up, so mother had fought the missing-nin and lost.
She spends the next few hours sitting quietly in the garden. Naruto occasionally walks by, giving her worried looks. Her friend's concern is sweet, but right now she needs to be alone. Later, she and Serena will reminisce about all the good times they've had with their mother and cry.
She isn't surprised when Itachi stops by the next day. They had slowly become friends ever since the day she had helped him create mental barriers. Sometimes Kira wonders why his mother had not asked someone from the clan to teach him about his abilities if she could not. Did his mother not pay attention to her son or had Itachi tried to hide his suffering from her?
"A spar might take your mind off things for a while," suggests Itachi.
"Sure," she replies. The Hakuo clan compound has a small training field that they can use. She's only fought Itachi a few times before. Usually they just work on chakra control and do individual target practice. She's not as strong as Itachi; nobody their age is. According to him, though, she's already at Genin level, which is nice to hear.
They mostly use taijutsu as Kira doesn't know any ninjutsu yet. After the spar, they walk through the woods outside the compound, talking about anything that comes to mind. Itachi seems to want to ask her something, but is hesitant to bring it up. She stares at him with a curious look; he knows he can't hide anything from her.
"About a month ago, your mother came to the Uchiha clan compound and talked with my father. They made a deal. Did she tell you about it?" he finally asks.
"Oh, that. Yes, mother asked me about it. She wouldn't agree to something like that without my permission," she says. Had he worried about that all this time? "What about you? Were you asked permission?"
He grimaces slightly. "Sort of. If I had been completely against it, he would have listened. But are you sure you're alright with this? It would mean that Serena becomes clan heir instead." he says, concerned.
She hums in thought. "Nothing is really set in stone until we're older; but, honestly, I think Serena would make a good clan head. And Fugaku's support is necessary. He's promised to get the council to back off so that the Hokage can give permission for Naruto to live here. The Hokage does care about Naruto's wellbeing and would have agreed to let my parents adopt Naruto if the council hadn't interfered." she says.
Itachi senses the truth of her statement and calms down. "You've become close to Naruto then?" he asks.
"Serena and I both have. He's like our little brother. Older siblings have to look out for younger siblings." says Kira, smiling. It was interesting to compare her emotions towards Serena and Naruto. She loved them both, but she felt more protective towards Naruto because he was younger. Serena was her equal; someone to watch her back and vice-versa.
"Speaking of siblings, Sasuke and Naruto are the same age, aren't they? We should introduce them, see if they become friends." she says.
She can sense amusement from him. "Are you trying to arrange a play-date?" he asks with a smile.
She puts on a mock-serious face. "And if I am? It is the older sibling's duty to look out for their younger sibling, you know." As something occurs to her, she stops kidding around. "Not just their physical health either, Itachi. It's important to look out for their emotional health as well. Depression can kill just as easily as an enemy's kunai."
Serena and Kira, age 10; Itachi, age 13
Serena had been helping Aunt Yumiko with dinner when she felt her sister's sudden panic. She turned around and saw her sister run down the hallway and out the door. She didn't know what had upset her sister, but she wasn't going to allow Kira to face it alone. She glanced over to Aunt Yumiko, who was looked just as baffled as her.
"I'm going after her." said Serena. Aunt Yumiko looked worried but reluctantly agreed. By the time Serena gets outside, her sister has already made it past the gates. She realizes that her sister is using chakra to run faster. After a mile of running, she begins to sense what her sister has.
They're running towards the Uchiha clan compound; and the only two Uchiha she can sense are Itachi and Sasuke. The youngest Uchiha is on his way home; with any luck, they'll get there before he does. Itachi's emotions are so agonized that she can hardly stand it. Her brain doesn't want to wrap around the implications of him being the only one in the compound. At this time of night, there should be other Uchihas at home. What is going on?
They reach the gate at the same time Sasuke does. He looks confused to see them, but Kira doesn't give him time for questions. "Serena, take Sasuke back to the Hakuo clan compound. He'll be safe under the seal barrier. I'm going in there." says Kira.
Sasuke looks ready to protest. Either he can't sense what's going on or he's a reckless fool. She goes over to him and grabs his hand. "Something has happened, Sasuke. It's not safe here. Please come with me." she says, dragging him with her.
"What do you mean? Is my family alright?" he asks, nervous.
"We're not sure yet. Kira will find out and tell us." she replies. He reluctantly agrees and goes with her to the compound. Sasuke has the family seal on his right palm, so she doesn't need to get a visitor's seal bracelet to let him through the barrier. Aunt Yumiko and Naruto are just inside the gate, looking worried.
"Kira is investigating the situation. For now, we should stay calm. We were in the middle of making dinner, weren't we, Aunt Yumiko?" she asks. Her aunt seems to realize that she's trying to distract Sasuke and Naruto and goes along with her plan.
Kira had to take a deep breath before she could force herself to go past the gates of the Uchiha compound. Unlike her sister, she wasn't in denial about what was happening. Someone had killed the Uchiha; the only two left were Itachi and Sasuke. She headed in the direction she sensed Itachi, and found him inside his house, standing above the corpses of his parents.
He actually looked surprised to see her. "I wasn't expecting you to come here," he said. She gave him an 'are you kidding me?' look.
"We've known each other for two years, Itachi. In all that time, have you not realized how far my range is? I can sense people five miles in either direction. The Uchiha and Hakuo clans are within five miles of each other. Did you think I wouldn't be home at this time of night or that I wouldn't investigate the disappearance of practically everyone in your clan?" her voice has steadily increased in volume until she was almost shouting at the end. She can sense his guilt when she mentions his clan.
She doesn't want to believe it; but she knows without asking that he's the one who did this. What reason could he have for killing his clan? She knows how terrible he feels for doing it, so why? He doesn't hate them, and she doubts it was temporary insanity. If he hadn't killed them because of an emotional reason, then what logical reason did he have for killing them?
But more than that, she wants to know..."Are you planning on killing Sasuke as well?" She didn't care what reasons he had; she wouldn't allow Sasuke to become another one of his victims.
Itachi looks pained by her question. "No." Such a short answer to her question. It becomes clear after a moment that he isn't going to elaborate.
She narrows her eyes at him. "Are you going to tell me why you did this?" she asks.
He just looks at her for a moment, clearly attempting to clear the emotions from his face. "...No."
She scowls at him, her anger rising. None of this made any sense. Itachi didn't like killing people. He wouldn't kill the clan without a reason. His objective had always been peace and the safety of his brother. Did he somehow think his clan was a threat to Sasuke or to the village?
Her eyes are drawn to the corpses on the ground and something horrible occurs to her. "Mikoto had Hakuo blood." she says. She can see he doesn't understand what she's getting at, which causes her irritation to skyrocket. Had he thought any of this through?
"Hakuos don't kill Hakuos, Itachi. It's against clan law. Do you think the rest of the clan will ignore this? They're going to come after you. Despite your skills, you're only thirteen. You won't be able to escape them." she says.
That, at least, gets a reaction from him. The thought of having the Void branch members coming after him makes him nervous, as it should. You don't mess with a clan of Seal Masters. But it doesn't bring her any satisfaction to imagine him being executed by her clan.
"You'll be put on trial after they capture you," she says, trying to think about all of her clan's laws and their loopholes. She makes eye-contact with him, unafraid of his sharingan eyes. "Mikoto never taught you anything about the clan, did she? I taught you how to use the Hakuo Kekkei Genkai; and my mother taught you about the traditions and rules of the clan as well as sealing."
Itachi is confused and somewhat offended by her words. "She didn't know how to help me with my abilities, and Rina-san offered to teach me." he says.
"I know," she says, grimly. "But the reasoning won't matter at your trial. You're going to have to give them facts; true facts since they can sense lies. Mikoto went by the name Uchiha and followed their traditions. You need to convince my clan that she should be considered an Uchiha, not an Hakuo. They'll banish you from the clan for killing your kin, but they won't execute you for it."
For a moment, all Itachi can do is stare at her, overwhelmed. All Kira knows for certain is that he killed his clan, not his reason, but she's helping him anyway? What did he do to earn that kind of loyalty?
"Why are you helping me?" he asks. He can feel her exasperation at his question, as well as anger. 'She finally looks like she wants to hit me,' he thinks, amused.
Kira scowls at him, wondering what he finds funny. "For a genius, you can be an idiot. You're family, Itachi. I may not understand your choices or approve of them in the slightest, but I don't want you to die. I'm not going to stop caring about you. But I will stop you if you ever attack my family, especially my siblings." she says.
Itachi is left speechless by her declaration. He had expected all his former friends to feel betrayed and hate him. But Kira was basically declaring her love for him. "I have no intention of attacking them," he says. The anger leaves her face as she senses the truth of his words. He wishes he had more time to talk with her, but he can sense the Anbu coming.
"Kira," he says, bringing her attention away from the approaching Anbu and back to him. "They can't know you were talking to me." He can practically see her thoughts spinning, digesting his words until she reaches the same conclusion he has.
"You have to knock me out," she says. "It's alright. I trust you not to damage me."
There's no time for him to dwell on how her words make him feel, so he merely nods. Genjutsu is the safest way to knock her out. He wouldn't want to accidently give her a concussion by hitting her. She meets his gaze without fear as he uses his sharingan to cast his genjutsu. Her eyes close, and he catches her as she falls. He gently lays her down, away from the blood before he runs off.
She wakes up, three hours later, in the hospital. Her sister is asleep on the chair next to her. She can sense Naruto and Sasuke in the waiting room; and her Aunt Yumiko is outside the door talking to someone, probably a nurse or doctor. Her family seems agitated; they've probably heard about the Uchiha clan's fate by now.
She senses the nurse walking to her door and sighs. She really didn't feel like talking to anyone right now. What was she even supposed to say? The bare minimum truth. 'Itachi killed some people then knocked me out,' perhaps.
The nurse was visibly startled to see her awake. Kira just stared at her, unimpressed. Her sister can sense her rising agitation and wakes up.
"Kira, you're alright!" says Serena. Her sister's obvious joy and relief at seeing her safe calms her nerves.
The nurse walks over to them and begins to ask her questions about how she's feeling and if she remembers who she is; genjutsu as powerful as Itachi's probably could be used to give someone amnesia, actually. However, no questions are asked about what happened at the Uchiha clam compound. Most likely, the nurse doesn't want her to have to repeat herself later when she's questioned by the officials.
"The Hokage wanted me to inform him when you woke up," says the nurse, who has since identified herself as Meizumi. "Would you be alright talking to him now or would tomorrow morning be better?"
She wanted to answer 'never' but that wasn't an option. "I'll talk to him tonight," she says. 'Might as well get it over with.'
"I'll contact him now then. It shouldn't take him more than thirty minutes to get here." says Meizumi before leaving the room.
Kira looks at the clock and then at her sister. "How is Sasuke handling the news?" she asks.
She senses her sister's concern for their cousin. "He's upset, of course. He didn't just loose his parents, like us; he's lost his entire clan. And although no one's said it outright, the rumor is that Itachi is the culprit." says Serena.
"Hmm. Sasuke will need our support. The house Naruto is living in has a guest room. I think Naruto will understand, don't you? Sasuke can't live in a house covered in his parent's blood. And seven year olds shouldn't live alone." she says.
Serena knows her sister is changing the subject from Itachi, but allows it. "We can talk to the Hokage about it when he gets here." she agrees.
They spend the next thirty minutes in silence, waiting. They look at the door a moment before the Hokage enters. His expression and emotions are both solemn. She wonders what he sees when he looks at them. Have her eyes lost the childish innocence that the adults speak of? Seeing dead bodies was supposed to be traumatic, wasn't it? Was something wrong with her or was she just in shock?
The Hokage starts the interrogation off by asking her questions about her health. He could have just asked the nurse how she was doing, but he probably wanted her to know he cared about her health. Whatever. Eventually, he got to the point and asked her about what happened. This is the summary she gave him:
"I sensed the Uchiha disappearing, or dying, I guess. Itachi was there, so I wanted to see if he was okay. Serena chased after me. We got there before Sasuke did, and Serena took him to the Hakuo clan compound for his safety. I went in to investigate." Here, the Hokage interrupts her.
"Weren't you worried about the danger? If adult ninja were being killed, then you would be in danger as well." he says.
She blinks at him, confused. "Yeah, I guess so; but Itachi was in there. I had to know what was happening. If he was the one behind this, then I needed answers. And if he wasn't, then he was in danger. I couldn't let him face that alone."
He doesn't seem to know how to respond to that. Had he not expected Itachi to have a friend willing to risk themselves for him? She didn't know why everyone seemed surprised by it tonight. First Itachi, now this guy. People needed to stop underestimating Itachi's worth. Despite what had happened, she knew he had a good heart. No one could convince her otherwise.
"After I went in, Itachi refused to answer my questions and knocked me out with genjutsu. I don't understand why he did this, do you?" she asks.
"Itachi's actions tonight were unexpected." says the Hokage, which although true, does not answer her question. 'The Hokage was not expecting Itachi to do this, but might know why he did. But he's not telling me, why?'
Serena notices the same thing she does. They make eye contact briefly. Calling the Hokage out on his evasiveness won't get them answers.
"Hokage-san, Kira and I wanted to know if Sasuke would be living with us now," says Serena. He stares at Serena for a moment, not having expected the subject change.
"Since you are Sasuke's last living family members, I suppose that would be alright." says the Hokage.
The Hokage spends asks them a few more questions before leaving. Aunt Yumiko finally comes into the room. Since the nurse didn't find anything wrong with her, they can all go home now.
The next morning, they gather together in the Main House's living room to discuss what happened last night. As Kira was the one who talked to Itachi, she starts the conversation.
"Alright, here are the facts. Itachi killed his clanmates. When confronted, he refused to give a reason. But he did tell me he wasn't going to kill you, Sasuke," she says. He seems conflicted on how to feel about that. Sasuke loves his brother, but feels betrayed by what he did. He wants, desperately, for there to be a good explanation for this.
"We also know that the Hokage refused to say whether or not he knows why Itachi did what he did. Itachi doesn't like killing people, and he was feeling guilty about what he did. Your thoughts?" she asks.
"The Hokage felt regretful and sort of guilty but not in an 'I'm directly responsible' sort of way." says Serena.
"The Uchiha didn't get along with the Hokage or the council," says Aunt Yumiko. We all look at her in surprise. "Sometimes, I've sensed the Uchiha feeling resentful towards them and the village as a whole. And, no offense meant to Sasuke, but the Uchiha clan is known for being prideful." Sasuke frowns but doesn't say anything.
"The two most important things to Itachi were Sasuke and peace. If the Uchiha weren't getting along with the leaders of the village, could Itachi have thought they were a threat to the peace of the village?" she asks.
"You think my family was planning a coup or something?" asks Sasuke, wondering whether he should feel offended.
Naruto glances between the two of them. "You said that old man Hokage might know Itachi's reason, right? So how would he know even if the Uchiha were planning something?" asks Naruto.
"I remember seeing Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha clan, talking with the Hokage many times over the past year." says Yumiko. "If Itachi was as loyal as Kira thinks he was, then he would have reported any possible uprising to the Hokage. And Sarutobi is not the kind of man who resorts to violence first. He probably tried many times to resolve things peacefully."
The five of them discussed what they knew for a few more minutes before concluding their meeting. "We'll continue to investigate the matter. Eventually, we may run into Itachi and get answers from him. We should be careful not to tell anyone of our suspicious, though. If one of the higher ups did order the deaths of the Uchihas, then they obviously want it kept quiet." says Kira. They all voice their agreement and leave the room.
Kira and Serena, age 12
"We're going to be genin in a few months," says Serena to her sister. "I wonder who our teammates will be." The two of them are currently outside, sitting under the shade of a tree. Tomorrow, they will visit their relatives in the Void for any last minute advice. Ever since their parents died, they have visited the Void every few weeks so that their relatives can help with their training. Once they've been made genin, they won't have as much free time to visit.
"Family members don't get paired together, so we'll unfortunately be put on different teams. And considering the ratio of females to male, both our teammates will be male." replies Kira. She's reading a scroll from her Void branch family's library. Serena doesn't know what it's about, but her sister has been reading it off and on for the past week with a really thoughtful look.
"Are you ever going to tell me what's on your mind? What has you so fascinated with that scroll?" Serena asks. Her sister's gaze flickers between her and the scroll, hesitant. Eventually, Kira lets her look at the scroll. Her eyes widen at what she sees. How had her sister gotten her hands on this scroll? She uses her sensing ability to make sure no one is within hearing range.
"This is the seal used to connect a bijuu to a human. Why do you have this?" Serena asks. Her sister frowns at her reaction.
"I was curious. The higher level scrolls aren't as well guarded as you might assume," replies Kira. "I've been thinking for a while now how useful it would be to have access to that level of chakra."
"Yes, but any children you have will be Yokai," she says. Her sister looks unimpressed by her comment.
"Low level ones. They'll barely look any different than an Inuzuka." Kira says. "And the pointed ears could be hidden with a hat or their hair."
There are four levels of Yokai. Level one and level two don't have much different between them. Level one basically just means that you're turning into a Yokai. Level two is when your ears are pointed, pupils slit, teeth sharp, and chakra as strong as a one tailed bijuu. Level three is when someone looks like a cross between a human and animal. Not many people reach level four. Those who are stronger than the rest and live a long time can become a bijuu; that's what level four is.
"Uh-huh. And I suppose no one will notice that their chakra is similar to a bijuu's?" she asks, skeptically.
Kira blinks innocently at her. "We'll claim it's a genetic mutation, a new type of Kekkei Genkai. Or we could say that one of our ancestor's from the Void had chakra like that and it skipped a few generations. The civilians don't know anything about Kekkei Genkai so they should believe it; and the ninjas will be happy to have strong comrades to protect the village." says Kira.
"Even if I did agree to this, would we be given permission to do it?" she asks.
"Well, technically we don't need permission. The Hakuo leaf branch is under the authority of the Hakuo Leaf Clan head, which is me. If I say we're allowed, then the Void Clan head can't object," says Kira.
"But he doesn't have to help us either," she says, giving her sister a skeptical look. Did Kira think they could draw a seal this complicated on their own? It was more intricate than the portal seal and that had taken them five years to learn!
Kira sighs in exasperation. "I think we're more talented than you're willing to believe, but no; I wasn't planning on doing this ourselves. Forcing the issue will be a last resort. I honestly don't see Clan Head Hinrik being against this. There are already a few Hakuos who have made the contract with a bijuu in the last century; he shouldn't object to a couple more."
Serena bites her lip, thinking about it. It was a big decision to make; once the contract was made, there was no backing out. But, it would be a big advantage to have access to that much chakra. And not only that, but she would be able to communicate with the bijuu, able to ask advice. After watching humans for thousands of years, the bijuu would have seen what does and doesn't work in certain situations.
"Alright," she agrees. "Let's do this."
Kira smiles, joy and satisfaction radiating from her. Now all they had to do was find two bijuu willing to lend them chakra. That would have to wait until tomorrow, though.
"Hmm. I honestly wasn't expecting you two to ask for such a thing," says Hinrik. Kira and Serena had come into his office a few minutes ago and asked to make the journey into bijuu territory. "You know it's dangerous, don't you? Although it's true you might find one willing to make a deal; if they don't like you, they're likely to attack you."
The two of them give him their best serious expression. He can tell that they're determined to go through with this. "Very well then, as long as you understand the danger," he says, resigned. He'll need to send someone who knows how to make the contract seal with them. He can only hope that they come back. It would be a disaster for the Hakuo Leaf branch to lose their most promising ninja. The two of them had more natural talent than his daughter, Galia. Who could have imagined that two eight year olds could create a soul-binding seal? Although, if he understood the story correctly, that hadn't been their exact intention. Telepathy. Children just loved to surprise the adults in their life.
"I'll send Meira and Hina with you. They can both draw the seal. The two of you will need to split up if you want to be back home in less than month. Have you thought about which type of bijuu you want to ally yourselves with?" he asks.
"Type?" asks Serena, confused. Kira doesn't understand what he means either.
Hinrik points to the large map hanging on his office wall. "The bijuu live in packs, and each pack has its own territory. As you can see, the map is color coded by element. The fire types live near the volcanos and deserts. Wind types live near meadows and deserts. Water types live near the ocean as well as lakes or ponds in the middle of forests. Earth and lightning types both like the mountains. The fire bijuu live near other fire bijuu; water bijuu live near other water bijuu; etc., etc."
He gets up and walks over to the map. "Unlike the human's map, our map is not one continent divided into different countries. Over time, we have explored this entire planet. Perhaps if the ninjas of the human realm had less wars, they would have time for exploration. Did you know it was said that Kaguya, the mother to the Sage of the Sixth Paths, came from a faraway land? She probably came from a different continent."
"Now, you must decide what element you want your allied bijuu to have; and whether you want it to be a certain type of animal. Although the second one doesn't really matter that much. Are you aware of what your chakra affinity is?" he asks them.
"Yes," says Kira. "Mother told us. I'm water-natured, and Serena is wind-natured."
Hinrik consults the map. "Water and wind, huh? Let's see. The most human friendly water bijuu live here," he says, pointing to a lake. "Despite being water natured, this pack takes the shape of birds. This pack contains 30 percent of all water bijuu, so they have a fairly large territory. Their alpha is named Ravka. And over here is the most friendly wind bijuu. Seventy percent of all wind bijuu take the form of birds because they love to be in the air, flying. The alpha of this pack is named Serata."
"Serata's pack contains twenty percent of all wind bijuu. The average size of a pack is fifteen percent. What's unusual about Serata's pack is that not all of them are birds, just most of them." he says. "What do you think?"
Kira looks at the map, committing to memory where they're going to have to travel to. She raises an eyebrow at her sister who grins. "It's perfect. When do we leave?" asks Kira.
"Tomorrow. I need time to talk to Meira and Hina. You'll need traveling supplies as well. I'll have them meet you at the gates tomorrow morning at 10 am. Your supplies will be delivered to your room sometime tonight." says Hinrik. Kira and Serena thank him before leaving the room.
The next morning, they meet their cousins, Meira and Hina, at the compound gates. "Ready to go?" asks Hina with a smile.
"Yes, ma'm." says Serena. Out of the two, Serena was the politest.
Hina laughs. "There's no need for such formality between family. Just call me Hina. I'll be the one taking you to the wind pack." she says to Serena.
"And I'll be taking Kira to the water pack," says Meira.
Kira smiles in gratitude, "Thank you for helping us, Meira."
"It's no problem. Now let's go. It's a long journey, and we want to get you two home in time for your genin exam." says Meira before leading the way.
After they reach the gates of the village, Hina asks "I assume the two of you know how to increase your speed by channeling chakra to legs?"
"Yes. Mother taught us that when we were seven." says Serena.
"Good. You'll need that skill now. With the distance we're traveling, it would take months if we had to travel like civilians. Let's go!" says Meira.
The four of them gradually pick up the pace as they run through the forest outside the village. Kira and Serena can feel the exact moment that they leave the seal barrier protecting the village. It almost causes them to stumble. The chakra of a bijuu is immense. Even though the bijuu they're sensing is miles outside their normal range, they can sense its chakra.
"Surprising, isn't it? Their chakra is so much different than a human's. You'll get used to it, though." says Hina.
They traveled together for three days, stopping only to eat and sleep, before their paths split. "This is where we separate. Serena and I will be going left. Meira and Kira are going right. If we continue going at the pace we've been going, it should take Serena and I a week to get to our destination; while it will take Kira and Meira roughly ten days to get to their destination. After that, we'll spend a week talking to the bijuu. If we can't convince them in that time, we'll head back. Not everyone succeeds on their first time. Try not to antagonize the bijuu, alright? If they don't like you, don't push it." says Hina.
Serena and Kira assure Hina that they'll be careful. The twins give each other a hug goodbye before following the cousin they'll be traveling with.