KAKASHI'S P.O.V

Rin hadn't been kidding when she'd said she was a fast learner. She had trouble learning her first technique, the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Naruto wanted to see if she was able to do that one first. She'd had trouble understanding Naruto's explanation of chakra and how do to hand signs, but once Sakura took over Rin took to it like a natural. She'd already learned practically everything she needed. Naruto taught her his Shadow Clone Jutsu, Sakura taught her her Cherry Blossom Impact Jutsu, and Sasuke taught her his Dragon Fire Skill Jutsu. We were all surprised when she was able to do it. She'd learned over thirty jutsus and mastered them perfectly in little over an hour.

"Alright, are you ready for your last lesson?"

I asked and she nodded.

"Alright then."

I showed her the hands signs for a move the ANBU use.

"This is the Body Freeze Skill Jutsu."

I said as she started to copy my movements. She started to speed up and finished before I did and Naruto yelled.

"Hey! I can't move! Why can't I move?"

Rin laughed before walking over to him.

"I can't believe I did it."

She said with a smile and I couldn't help but smiling myself. She will definitely be a great ninja.

~TWO YEARS LATER~

RIN'S P.O.V

"Sakura, where are you taking me?"

I asked as my pink haired friend led me somewhere, I couldn't see anything due to the blindfold over my eyes.

"You'll see, just be patient Rin."

She said and I smiled.

"You should know me better than that."

I said and heard her laugh. A door opened and I felt hands on my shoulders.

"Keep your eyes closed till I say."

Sakura said and I nodded then she took the blindfold off. I kept my eyes closed like she wanted and heard a bunch of footsteps and could sense a bunch of familiar auras.

"What's going on Sakura?"

I asked but got no response.

"Sakura?"

"Open your eyes Rin."

Sakura said from across the room and I opened my eyes and gasped. Everyone of my friends and some of the villagers were all standing in front of me, a big banner was hung up behind them.

"Happy 18th Birthday Rin!"

They all yelled in unison and I couldn't help the tears from falling down my face.

"You guys."

I said as I looked around the room. It was fully decorated for a party, and a long table was covered in food and drink. There was a pile as tall as the ceiling of presents wrapped in different colors.

"Aww Rin, we didn't mean to make you cry."

Naruto said and I smiled as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"I'm crying cause I'm happy idiot."

I said and he just smiled at me.

'Two years I've been with these people and they've taken me in as if I'm one of their own.'

'You are one of their own little one. Both of us are.'

Kitsana said and nodded.

"Hey, let Kitsana out. Akamaru wants someone to fig-I mean play with."

Kiba said and I smiled.

"Hasn't he learned his lesson from last time?"

I asked as I gathered my power and I was surrounded in a flash of red light. Then Kitsana stood beside me, her tail swaying back and forth playfully.

"He has, and this time he'll beat her."

Kiba said with a smile of his own and I smirked at him before Kitsana padded over to the little white dog at Kiba's side.

"I doubt that."

I said as Kitsana adjusted her size so they were on equal playing fields and they both charged at each other.

"Come on birthday girl."

Kakashi said as he pulled me over to the table and sat me down in front of a rather large cake. It was red and black and had a picture of the whole village on it, and a big wolf curled up asleep on the outside of the gate. I felt tears in my eyes again as I realized the wolf was me.

"Hey, no crying!"

Sakura snapped and I wiped away my tears and smiled.

'She's right little one. No tears, this is a day of celebration.'

Kitsana said through our link and I nodded as everyone started singing happy birthday to me. I blew out the candles when they had all finished and silently made a wish.

'Let me find the one who's right for me.'

"What's you wish for Rin?"

Naruto asked as Kakashi cut the cake.

"I-"

"She can't tell you that! It won't come true if she does."

Sakura said and I shut my mouth. I had been going to tell them seeing as we practically told each other everything, but if it meant my wish wouldn't come true then I guess I could keep this one thing a secret. I smiled as Naruto pouted and Sakura threatened to beat him up if he didn't stop complaining. I saw everyone making their plates and settling about the room and enjoying themselves. Kiba and Ino were watching Kitsana and Akamaru fight. Naruto was sitting next to Neji, Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata. Shikamaru was sitting against the wall with his head down asleep, while Choji was chowing down on a bag of potato chips while listening to Sarutobi talk to Kakashi and the other ANBU members in the other corner of the room. That's when I noticed someone was missing. I looked around and saw Sasuke leaning against a wall with a bored expression on his face and his arms crossed in front of him as always. I grabbed a piece of cake and put it on a plate before heading over to him. I sat down on the window sill, letting my legs hang over the edge and looked around the village before holding up the plate in my hands to him.

"Cake?"

I asked and he looked at me in surprise.

"It won't kill you."

I said with a smile and he slowly took the plate from my hand and picking up the fork and eating some of the cake. I smiled to myself before looking back out the window.

"You know, when I first woke up in the hospital I never would have expected that I'd be spending my eighteenth birthday with a group of people I didn't even know, but then you guys took me in as one of your own. Thanks."

I said without looking away from the village. I heard everything get quiet within the room and sighed as I looked up to the sky and watched the clouds roll along.

"For the past two years you guys have treated me like family, and I'm glad you did. Because to be honest if you hadn't, I would probably be long dead by now."

I said truthfully and heard Sakura and Ino gasp and smiled sadly.

'Kitsana, I think I want them to know the truth about my past.'

I said and felt the surprise in her aura.

'Are you sure little one?'

She asked and I nodded, then continued.

"Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, do you guys remember the day you found me on the other side of the gate?"

I asked and they all responded with a small 'yes'.

"I was all bloody and was practically dying."

I said and saw them nod from the corner of my eye.

"I'm sure you all want to know how I came to be that way."

I said and felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see it was Kakashi.

"You don't have to tell them if you don't want to Rin."

He said, he already knew the whole story because of the nightmares I'd have some nights where I relived it all. After about the third time he forced me to tell him.

"It's okay, I want them to know. They're my family, my friends."

I said and he nodded before stepping back. I turned around on the window sill to face everyone in the room. All eyes were on me.

I took a deep breath before continuing.

"When I was seven my mother and father were killed by a band of thieves. They chased me into the forest, but I got away. When I came out of my hiding space I met Kitsana. She and I formed a bond and I allowed her to inhabit my body. That's how I became the host to a fox spirit. A few years passed and the villagers came to tell me that my brother had died in the war. I had kept my new powers a secret up until then, but when they told me that I lost it and my emotions took over. I severely injured them, but thankfully I hadn't killed any of them. Because of that I feared what I could do and the villagers started to hate me. I was sixteen when my life had changed. I'd gone out to hunt just like every morning, but this time when I came back the villagers attacked me."

I said and a collective gasp went through the room.

"I would have died if it hadn't been for a silver haired demon. He saved my life and took me in. He was the ruler of the Western lands and he treated me as his daughter. He taught me how to fight and how to keep control over my emotions, but of course, no one's perfect."

I said with a dark tone and I saw everyone in the room flinch.

"What happened?"

Naruto asked and I sighed.

"His name was Sesshomaru and he had fallen in love with a miko named Kagome. Her and her friends traveled around the world helping others. There was the monk Miroku who had a curse placed upon his left hand that would suck anything into an endless void, but he kept it closed with prayer beads. A demon slayer named Sango with her companion Kilala, the fire cat. A young fox child named Shippo who had lost his parents and was adopted by Kagome. And then there was a half-demon named Inuyasha."

"You keep saying was, what happened to them?"

Sakura asked and I took a deep breath before continuing, it was getting close to the painful part and to be honest I was afraid of how they might react.

"As I said, Sesshomaru had fallen in love with Kagome, and she him, but Inuyasha was in love with her as well. Kagome used to love Inuyasha, but in the beginning he didn't return her feelings and instead she moved on to his half brother. This enraged Inuyasha when he realized he loved her but had lost her and so he attacked Sesshomaru who I had come to see as a father."

I said.

"Idiot, you don't mess with the people Rin cares about."

Naruto said and I smiled at his remark sadly.

"He had almost killed Sesshomaru and my emotions got the better of me. I transformed completely and killed Inuyasha, but once I got a taste of another demon's blood I lost all control and everything went black. When I woke up all my friends were dead and I was covered in their blood."

I said and heard everyone gasp in shock, but I kept going.

"The guards of the palace attacked me once I woke up, that's how I got my wounds. I'd jumped off a cliff to get away and wound up wandering until I collapsed outside your village. The rest you know."

I said and gave them all a weak smile.

No one moved, it seemed like no one was breathing except for me and Kakashi.

"Oh Rin! You've been through so much!"

Sakura said before running to me and wrapping her arms around me. I stared past her with wide eyes.

"Y-You don't hate me?"

I asked surprised.

"What! No, of course not."

Sakura said as she pulled back to look me in the eyes.

"We could never hate you Rin. We've all had hard pasts, but it's the ways we chose to get over them that makes us who we are."

Neji said and everyone nodded, even Shikamaru who had woken up when everything had gotten quiet. I couldn't help the tears that fell down my face. Three times, three times these guys have made me cry.

'It seems like we picked good friends little one.'

Kitsana said and I nodded.

"Come on, let's not waist this time. This is supposed to be a party, so let's party!"

Naruto yelled and I couldn't help but laugh at that.

The party got back into full swing as if nothing had changed. Kitsana beat Akamaru again and he leapt back into Kiba's coat. Naruto and Sasuke had an eating contest and both of them passed out from eating too much cake. Sakura and Ino were sitting in the corner doing Hinata and Tenten's hair. Choji had gone to the store to get more chips and Shikamaru had just gone back to sleep. I smiled as I looked around at my friends. I'd opened all my presents and was shocked to have gotten twin katanas, sai, and a dagger from the blacksmith. My favorite series from the librarian. The baker and his wife had made my cake as a present, but their daughter had made me a cookbook after hearing I loved to cook. Naruto had given me a dull and chipped kunai, saying it was from when he'd made a vow to be strong. Sasuke had given me the emblem from one of his shirts saying he considered me to be family which got me dirty looks from Sakura and Ino. Kakashi had given me more clothes to go with the ones I already had. Sarutobi gave me the lease to a bigger apartment and said I could move in by the end of the night. Shikamaru and Choji had given me a Sudoku book and a bag of half eaten potato chips. Kiba and Akamaru gave me a bag of chew toys for Kitsana and shampoo to keep ticks away in the summer. Neji and Hinata gave me a scroll of jutsus that was said to be extremely hard to master. Tenten, Sakura, and Ino all gave me one gift that they said they'd all pitched in for. A porcelain doll with long wavy black hair, in a dark emerald green dress that flowed about her small form elegantly. She had cerulean colored eyes and rosy cheeks. She was absolutely gorgeous and I was surprised they knew I liked porcelain dolls. And the ANBU had said they finally accepted me and they even gave me my own codename, other than what they had been calling me on missions. I've got to say, Yuumei is definitely better than Shiin.

I smiled and sighed as I took in the peace and quiet that surrounded us. They knew my past and they weren't chasing me away or calling me a monster. I'd finally found a place I could call home.

"Yuumei! We've got a mission!"

Kakashi yelled and I shot up. Every eye was on me as I walked over to Kakashi.

"What is it?"

I asked in a whisper.

"Remember the red haired kid you faced off against during the Chunin Exams two years ago?"

He asked and I thought a minute.

"Yeah, Gaara right?"

I asked and he nodded.

"Yes. Well it seems like he's gotten into some trouble with the Akatsuki."

He said and at the sound of them I got all serious.

"What kind of trouble?"

I asked.

"They're trying to extract Shukaku from him. We can't let that happen, he is the kazekage of Suna and as their allies we can't let anything happen to him if we can stop it. That's where you come in. You're the best ANBU member we've got. You and one other will go check it out, if you need help call for back up. Do NOT try to take them down on your own do you understand Rin?"

Kakashi asked in a serious tone and I nodded.

"Yes Hatake."

I said before pulling on my ANBU outfit, strapped my katanas to my back, my sai to my thigh, and my dagger to the side of my boot I pulled my mask over my face and called for Kitsana to come back to me. Then in a flash, I was gone.