Beta: Still no one. Oh well.

'Some promises are lies that we never meant to tell'- Robin Maxwell

香燐

"Do you know what this says?" Amaya gently prompted.

Wide, curious eyes narrowed in concentration before shaking their heads, clearly not comprehending the kanji. 'It just looks like a bunch of squiggles,' Kaida mused. 'I have a feeling that learning this is going to take a while.'

"This is your name Karin, it means 'fragrance'. You were so, so sweet when we first saw you." Another precise brushstroke was made, creating another group of characters.

甲斐田

"And this, is your name Kaida. It means 'little dragon', because the day you were born, you let out a fierce roar," Amaya recalled, a faint smile warming her face.

It was more like she was crying and screaming her eyes out because she had just been reborn into a world where people breath out fire like it's nobody's business, but hey, whatever floats her boat. Kaida sure wasn't going to argue with a name like that. Better "little dragon" then being called a fishcake, in her opinion. Besides, it wasn't like she could change her name at the time.

うずまき

"This says Uzumaki, our clan name." Amaya's voice held a slight tinge of pride, though an unidentifiable emotion flickered briefly in her eyes.

"U-zu-ma-ki?" Came the chorus reply. (Seriously, that was kinda creepy in Kaida's opinion. Oh well, as long as she wasn't on the receiving end of it.)

"It was our clan. It was once a very powerful clan in Uzushiogakure, renown throughout the Nations for their sealing prowess." Amaya fondly recalled,"Uzushio was a beautiful land, with a sparkling river that flows through the heart of the village. The people were, in a word, lively." She chuckled, "They had so much joy in life, so much energy, that it was said that their hair was stained crimson like blood, signifying the potent life force that runs through their veins. Everyone thought we were savages or barbarians because of our wild and free ways. We just laughed at their ignorance."

Karin noticed Amaya's use of the past tense.

"Wha' happened?" she asked, large eyes filled with innocence. Nobody noticed as both Amaya and Kaida's eyes darkened in sorrow.

"Rin-chan," Her mother began softly, after a moment of silence, "People fear what they cannot control. They fear the unknown and powerful, and that fear leads to cruel decisions to eliminate it." The room was deathly quiet, a change from the lighthearted mood from just minutes before. As realization slowly dawned upon the children's faces, Amaya continued.

"It was destroyed." A collective faint, but sharp intake of breath penetrated the silence.

"There was a massive invasion, formed by temporary alliances between several villages." 'Remember our history, and learn that even the mighty can fall,' Amaya mentally wished for her family.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed that her children were just a bit too quiet. A glance showed their small frames shaking almost imperceptible, slightly trembling like a leaf.

"Oh my dears, don't be scared, Kaa-chan will never let anyone come after you." She tried to comfort them, mistaking the trembling for fear. Her actions were halted by a soft voice.

"No, that's not it."

Peering into Karin's eyes, she was startled to find that instead of fear, like she had originally thought, she found grief and a faint glint of anger in those eyes that were so much like Haruki's. Another peek at Kaida showed the same results.

"How could they just do that?" Kaida asked in disbelief.

"Kaa-san, no leave us please!" Karin interrupted, turning pleading eyes at Amaya.

Stunned eyes quickly softened as Amaya reached over to pinch both of the twin's noses, causing them to squeel in displeasure. "My dears, your father and I will always protect you, no matter what. We will not abandon you until the day that you are filled with happiness, even then, we will always support you. We won't leave you, Karin, Kaida."

"Promise?" Kaida pleaded. Both she and Karin crawled closer to their mother,

"I promise."came the unusually serious tone from the normally lighthearted Uzumaki mother.

Amaya usually valued honesty, but in this case, she figured it couldn't hurt to lie just this once. 'Just this once, please let me be able to keep this promise, just this one,' she mentally prayed to Kami, or whoever was listening.

Sastisfied with the promise, the twins cuddled to their mother, both yawning as the exhaustion from the impromptu history lesson and emotional turmoil began to take their toll. She just chuckled as she ruffled their heads, pulling them closer into her embrace, crimson hair falling over to form a protective curtain.

'I promise to always protect you two with all I've got, never letting you experience loneliness like I had.'

They were two years old by the time they finally got to experience the foreign world outside their home.

It started with a "Kaida, Karin, it's time for you to see your village with your mother." from Haruki. He had a slight nervous aura around him that would have been impossible to notice if it weren't for the slight tremor in his chakra. "Would you like to help your mother in grocery shopping?"

Excited, the red haired twins both chirped out a "Yes!" and raced over to their room to get ready.

Karin was ecstatic as she pulled on her sandals, babbling "Isn't this great?" to Kaida, who was more slow in preparing.

"Yeah..." she trailed off, distracted in her thoughts. It was already hard enough trying to keep a secret from two shinobi, but to hide it from a whole village? To say she was nervous was an understatement. Kaida sighed as she thought that at least, she got to see what village she lived in. Not once did her parents say anything about where they lived, nor did they ever reveal their hitai-ate. She hoped that she wasn't anywhere near Kiri or Konoha.

As the twins followed Amaya like ducklings, Kaida surreptitiously glanced at everyone she encountered, taking note of any odd looks her family may have garnered. The people here were, peculiar, in a word. Some of them had outlandish hair color such as neon blue hair, others had sharp teeth like a shark. However, they all held the same distrustful glint in their eyes as they gazed at the red haired twins. She didn't mention any of these peculiarities to her mother, for fear of attracting unwanted attention.

Karin, however, had no such reservations.

"Kaa-san, look! How come everyone looks weird?" She tried to whisper to Amaya, who was examining a stall that was filled with turnips. The woman who was managing the stall, overheard, and she chuckled dryly. "Your children are an interesting bunch." She commented, assessing eyes raking over the twins.

"Yes, they are." Amaya gave a clipped response, her dark blue eyes reflecting the same distrust that Kaida had observed in the villagers. The twins were subtly hidden from view as Amaya shifted around the stalls to inspect other goods. Karin babbled to her mother, as Kaida listened to her surroundings. She heard brief snippets of hushed conversation, ranging from common pleasantries, to gossip. She filtered through them, instead paying attention to anything that might sound important. One topic, in particular caught her attention.

"Have you heard of the recent kidnappings?" The hushed words whispered, which, after briefly checking, belonged to an elderly woman, who was shopping nearby.

"Yes, I've also heard that it was due to that new group"

"The slavery traders?"

"Yes, those horrible people. Rumor has it that they will even sell children to anyone who is interested. " There was a sharp gasp as the woman''s companion covered her mouth with her hands.

"How horrifying." The women drifted away, eventually going out of Kaida's hearing range. She had already lost interest in the conversation, focusing instead on increasing her sensing range.

Kaida had already determined long ago that she didn't have Karin's Mind's Eye sensing skill. Instead, she just had regular sensing skills, which she planned on honing to the point that it was as good as Karin's. So far, her range was only about 3 kilometers, while Karin could sense people from 5 kilometers away.

Gripping Karin's hands for guidence, she closed her eyes and focused on separating each chakra signature around her. She noticed how each person had their own signature, but all had the same bitter tang of distrust. Kaida frowned at the animosity between every villager, almost palpable in the way everyone silently assessed each other for betrayal.

When they returned home, Kaida asked her mother the one question that had been pestering her mind since the shopping trip.

"Kaa-san, where do we live?"

Amaya glanced over to her curiously for a moment, before answering nonchalantly, "We live in the Village of Riptide, a small village in the Land of Waves. Most shinobi live in Kirigakure, which is nearby, but your father and I would rather live here." She moved on to placing the groceries away, unaware that Kaida had frozen in place, a stiff look on her face.

'I live near Kiri?' she thought with rising horror. Kiri, with their bloody graduation exams and violent shinobi? She distinctly recalled that Karin had been a Grass shinobi, which was what, all the way on the other side of the Land of Fire? Her birth couldn't possibly have changed anything this much could it?

Kaida quickly shoved away the growing hysteria as she mechanically walked into her room, plopping into bed with a heavy thought in her head.

'What have I done?'

Omake: Uzumaki Charm

Kaida was surprised at the Uzumaki history, despite her foreknowledge on the matter. As far as she could remember, the manga had virtually nonexistent information on the clan. All it consisted of was that they were sealing masters, who had red hair and a ridiculously long lifespan (just look at Mito, she was the first Hokage's wife, and she lived all the way to the Third's reign.)

She couldn't quite understand why she grieved for people who she had never met, who she should have no concern for. Not only that, she was actually more than a little pissed that someone would dare to hurt her people, her family. Her growing rant paused as a new thought arose. 'Am I actually getting attached to this world?' Kaida wondered. Another moment of contemplation revealed to her that yes, she was attached to her new family, just as strongly as she did in her past. Which was strange, considering that she spent roughly 5-6 months with this new family.

She blamed it on one of Nature's mysteries, known as the Uzumaki charm, which was reputed to be capable of turning all their foes into friends.

Author's Note:

Ehehe, so at the beginning of this story, I had looked at a baby name website for a suitable Japanese name. I found Kaida, and thought it was all good. However, when writing this chapter and researching a bit more, it turns out that Kaida actually doesn't mean "little dragon." It doesn't even have anything to do with dragons, something about rice fields. So, as it's a bit late in changing it now, we are all going to pretend that Kaida means little dragon. Ahahaha, I apologize if this offended any native Japanese speakers. I didn't intend for this to happen.

Thanks to all the reviewers, who include kani-leek-lover, Not-Gonna-Update, Llyrica, Sparksofrandomness, and Guest. Believe me when I say that All those reviews really motivated me.

Quick question: Has there ever been a fic where the main character died before the main events happened? For example, has there ever been a fic where Naruto is killed off before the story ever began? I imagine that the author must be seriously brave to face the controversy of his/her readers. This does not mean that I will be doing this. I'm just curious, that's all.

To check the writing progress on the next chapter, check my profile.

Reviews will be welcomed with open arms, as it will help me improve my writing.