Few years later,

"Be fierce, Shen."

"Ren, please, do not go!"

"Stay away from my family!"

Slash!*

"REN!"

"Shhh, stay silent, Shen. Everything is going to be ok."

"AHHH!"

Slash!*

"SHEN!" Shen bolted awake from her dream, panting and whipping around. "Tang Shen, come down here! I need your help!" Her grandfather shouted. Shen gasped and looked at the clock. "I overslept?!"

As fast as she could, Shen got dressed and ran downstairs, while putting her apron on. She came just in time when her grandfather was about to drop the dishes he was trying to balance in his arms. "I am so sorry, Yeye!"

Amaya smiled at her from her cooking station. "Do not worry, Shen. You worked late last night; it is understandable that you slept in."

"Yes but I do hope you do not sleep in when we go back to Tokyo in a few weeks." Fu said and Shen grinned. "I can not wait to see everyone again! It has been so long."

"You saw them at the Spring festival last month." Fu pointed out. "Yes, but that was a month ago and it was only for a day!" Amaya chuckled. "You really love the Hamato family, don't you?"

"They are like family to me, why wouldn't I?" Shen said sweetly then went out to take orders. Amaya then looked at Fu who frowned. "No." Amaya sighed. "Husband, it has been years now since anyone has even heard of Maji. Maybe it would not be such a bad idea to move in with the Hamato Clan. Shen has no friends other than Yoshi and Saki. All the children here find her...odd."

Fu huffed. "No granddaughter of mine is odd, Amaya. Those children are fools and just because Oroku Maji has not been seen yet, does not mean he is not out there somewhere."

"I am only thinking about what is best for Shen and her future." Amaya said and Fu glared at her. "So am I! I am trying to make sure she actually has a future!" Amaya frowned sadly and rubbed his arm soothingly. "I know she reminds you a lot of Ren but just because she is like her, does not mean she will fall the same fate as her."

Fu sighed and looked down. "Tell that to my heart."

With Shen, she was taking people's orders when someone let out their foot, causing her to trip. "Haha! Hey, freak!" A snobby voice said, and Shen sat up to glare at a girl from her school. She had high pigtails, brown eyes, and she wore a white dress. "I am still waiting for my order."

Shen frowned while getting up and dusting herself off. "As I told you, Lin, it will be here shortly." Lin scoffed. "It has been an hour! What kind of business is your family running?!"

"It has been ten minutes. If you do not want to wait and you hate my family's restraint, then you can leave if you wish but do not disrespect my family." Shen then turned to head back to the kitchen before Lin could say anything and when she got there, she saw Fu smiling proudly at her. "I am glad to see you standing up for yourself."

Shen smiled as she took two dinner plates from the contour. "I do not mind if she says nasty things to me, but I will not have her saying nasty things about my family or my papa's restaurant." Fu smiled wider as he watched Shen go. He sighed. "She is like Ren."

"She is like you." Amaya added and Fu smiled softly at her.

...

Few weeks later,

Shen was basically jumping on her sit as she stared out of the window, grinning from ear to ear when she saw the Hamatos waiting for them at the station like always. She ran out, bumping into a few people on the way and when she jumped off, she ran up to her friends and gave them a hug. "Yoshi, Saki, I have missed you two so much!"

Yoshi cringed, embarrassed by the people who were looking their way as they passed by while Saki just patted Shen's head. "It is good to see you too, Shen." Shen realsed them and gasped when she saw 4-year-old Masato. Yup, it turned out Atsuko was right, she had another boy. His name was Hamato Masato. He had black hair and brown eyes. He looked more like his father than Yoshi does. He wore a white shirt and black pants.

"Masato, hi. Do you remember me?" Shen asked, bending down slightly. Masato shrugged. "Kind of."

"It is lovely to see you again, Shen." Yuuta said, attempting to just give a simple respected bow but Shen hugged him instead. "It is good to see you too, Master Yuuta!" She said then quickly realized him. "I can not wait for this summer!"

Atsuko chuckled. "As always we are happy to have you." Tadashi smiled and handed Shen a book. "I know it is one of your favorites, so I got it for you. I am happy that someone appreciates education." He said while sending a look to Yoshi who glared in response. "Tadashi." Atsuko said warningly.

Shen giggled. "Thank you for the book, Tadashi. I can not wait to read it. Where is Yumi?"

"Grandmother was not feeling well today, so she deiced to stay home. She sends her love." Saki said and Shen looked slightly disappointed. "Aw, that is too bad."

"Anway, Shen, let's go play ninja tag." Yoshi suggested and Shen beamed. "Ok!"

"Take Masato with you, it will be a good learning experience for him." Yuuta said and Yoshi rolled his eyes. "Fine." Masato pouted. "But I don't want to play ninja tag!" Yuuta looked at him sternly. "We do not whine in this family; Masato and you will do as you are told. Now go."

Masato frowned and followed his older brothers and Shen into the woods, just when Fu and Amaya were getting off. "The children have already run off?" Atsuko laughed. "Yes, but can you blame them really? It takes almost a whole year for them to see each other."

"We would visit more but with the business and of course, Shen's education-"

"No need to explain. A child's education is more important than friends." Yuuta stated. "Tadashi and I have been trying to teach that to Yoshi." Atsuko scowled. "And though I do agree Yoshi needs to focuse more on his studies, I do not agree it is more improtant than friends."

Amaya nodded. "Hai, I would give anything if Shen would make friends at school." Atsuko frowned in concern. "Shen is not making friends?" Amaya sadly shook her head. "Why? Shen is such a bright and funny, happy little girl! Who would not want to be friends with her?!"

"I do not know. She refuses to tell us anything." Fu sighed. "She hates worrying us. She is only nine years old, yet I feel like she takes more care of us than we do her."

"I do hope she makes new friends soon. Not that I mind, Yoshi and Saki but I want Shen to have more." Amaya said and Atsuko nodded in understanding. "Let us help you with your bags and we can talk more at the dojo." Yuuta said and the others nodded in agreement.

...

10-year-old Yoshi was wandering around the woods, looking all around for something until he sensed someone behind him. He grinned wickedly but pretended he didn't hear anything. Behind the bushes was Masato. Masato stood silent, waiting for his brother to leave so he could sneak away but his plans got stolen, when he felt a sudden hand on his head. He looked up to see Yoshi smirking down at him. "You are going to be the worst ninja ever." He teases.

Masato pouted. "Whatever. I didn't even want to play." He grumbled before getting up and marching away. "Aw, come on, Sato, don't be like that!" Yoshi called after but his little brother ignored him.

Yoshi scoffed before running to find Saki and Shen. He saw Saki running towards the dojo and Yoshi quickly followed. It only took a few minutes until he tackled Saki on the ground. Yoshi chuckled. "You need to work on your speed, you are way too slow! Almost like a turtle!"

Saki growled. "Yoshi, get off me!"

"Say it."

Saki's eyes widened. "No!"

"Say it or else I'm never going to let you up."

Saki sighed. "Hamato Yoshi is the best. Now get off!" Yoshi did so and ran towards the river where he knew Shen was probably hiding. Shen was in the trees, looking down at Yoshi who was eyeing the area. She smiled, confident that she was going to win but then Yoshi fell on his face, letting out a painful groan. Shen gasped and quickly climbed down. "Yoshi!"

She ran to him and checked him over. "Are you ok?" Yoshi got up and smiled mischievously before booping her nose. "Got'cha." It took a minute but when Shen realized she had just been tricked, she grew upset. "That was not funny, I was worried about you!"

Yoshi booped her again. "That's your problem Shen, you're too nice." Shen pouted and swatted his hand away. "And you're mean!" Yoshi shrugged while grinning. "Helps me win and makes you lose." Shen huffed and crossed her arms while looking away. "You are training to be a ninja, of course you would be good at this."

"Hey, you could train to be a ninja too." Shen rolled her eyes. "You know my grandparents would never agree to it, Yoshi. Besides, I do not need to be a ninja to beat you." Yoshi smirked. "Rematch then?"

Shen grinned and nodded. "Ok, this time, I am only going to give you a five-minute head start." Shen's jaw dropped slightly. "What happened to twenty?!" Yoshi only smiled and began to turn around. "Better start hiding Shen!"

Shen quickly went running into the trees with a happy smile on her face. She loved coming to Japan. Do not get Shen wrong, she loves her home in Fukuoka. Cooking by her grandmother's side and helping her grandfather with the costumers. The restraint was fine, but the problem was, it was the only place she felt happy. Shen frowned sadly as she thought of it. No matter how hard she tries, kids at her school found her strange and wanted nothing to do with her because she did not have any parents. She could never tell her grandparents; it would just break their hearts and that is the last thing Shen wanted to do. School may be hard at times but getting away and being in the Hamato Clan for the summer, was a nice break. To Shen, the Hamato Clan is the only place she truly fits in.

Shen loved her friends, Yuuta, Tadashi, Yumi and Atsuko who she came to love as a mother. They were all family to her, just as her grandparents. She could not imagine getting through everything without them.

As Shen continued to run, something caught her eye and she stopped to see what it was. She saw a baby fox with redness around its yellow eyes and redness at the end of its tails- wait what? Shen's eyes widened as she saw the fox had way more tails than it should. The fox saw her staring and dashed into the woods. Acting in curiosity, Shen ran after it. "Wait!"

...

Deep In the woods,

Shen was running around, completely forgetting about the game as she tried to find the fox but could not see it anywhere. She started to wonder if she even saw it at all. Shen has always been a strong believer in magic and yokai. Others thought she was too old to believe in such things now, but Shen did not care. If she ever saw a yokai, she would want to befriend them and learn more of their magical world.

Shen sighed, disappointed when she still could not find any trace of the fox. She turned to head back but gasped when she heard a scary low growl. Slowly, she turned around and saw that it was a black wolf. Shen gasped in fright and jumped when another one popped out of nowhere. They began to circle her. Looking around, Shen saw a long thick stick and slowly picked it up, getting ready to swing in order to protect herself.

Before the wolves could even pounce, howling could be heard from above. Shen raised a brow, noticing it did not sound anything like a wolf howl and raised her head to see exactly what it was. Her mouth fell slightly when she saw it was the fox, standing on a tree branch. The wolves looked up to the fox that seemed to glare down at them. Whimpering, the wolves backed away and ran back into the woods.

Shen stared at the fox in amazement and wonder. The fox jumped down but when it landed it was not a fox anymore but a young girl, about Shen's age. Shen dropped the stick in shock as the girl smiled at her. "Did you honestly think that you could defeat those wolves with a stick?"

Shen looked at the girl more closely, admiring her black hair and yellow eyes until she finally recognized her. "I know you. You are Kuzunoha's daughter. Kitsune, right?"

Kitsune smiled. "Yes and you are Tang Shen, Yoyo's girlfriend." Shen blushed slightly. "I am not his girlfriend!"

"Haha!" Kitsune laughed wistfully. "That is exactly how he acted when I teased him too. You two are two peas in a pod, aren't you?"

Shen ignored Kitsune's teasing and instead looked at her curiously. "Why did you run away when you saw me? Were you afraid?" Kitsune grinned. "No."

"Then why did you run?"

"Because if you knew what I was then you would be afraid of me." Kitsune said as she stepped closer to Tang Shen. "But I am not afraid." Shen insisted. "Yes you were but you came into the woods by yourself and were about to fight those nasty wolves anyway. I must say, impressive, most people would just try to run or accept their fate."

"Are you a yokai?" Shen then asked as the girl continued to study her, but she does not know what exactly for. "Yes. I am a fox yokai just like my mother." Kitsune replied. "Does Yoshi know?"

"No. No one but the masters know of our heritage." Shen frowned. "How come?"

"Because most people will try to kill us if they learn of our power. That is why mother always tells me to be very careful and keep ourselves strictly secret." Kitsune said as she held a finger to her lips, making a clear hint to Shen. "Do not worry. I will not share your secret, I promise."

"Good because you know, if you do, I would have no choice but to kill you." Kitsune said and laughed at the unfazed look on Shen's face. "You really are not scared of me now, are you?"

"No." Shen said confidently. Kitsune's laughs died down as she grabbed Shen's chin and gave her a scary smile. "You should be."

"If you wanted to kill me, you would have done so but instead you saved my life. Thank you." Kitsune looked off guard and her eyes lit up slightly, as if she never been thanked before but she quickly covered it up. "You are strange." She said, her smile return in place. "I like you."

Shen's eyes sparkled that was the first time a girl her age said she liked her. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"But most girls at my school do not like that I am strange." Kitsune scoffed. "You go to school? That place is for normies and dummies. A place where you are punished for thinking outside of the box and breaking a couple of rules. You are much better than that prison."

Shen laughed. "I would not take it that far, but it does feel like that sometimes. So, do you want to be friends?" Kitsune paused for a moment then grinned. "I would love too!" Shen smiled.

"Shen!" A voice called and the two looked to see Yoshi and Saki running them. "What happened? I thought we were playing still?" Yoshi asked. "Sorry, Yo, I was talking to my new friend, Kitsune."

Kitsune smiled teasingly at him. "Hi, Yoyo." Yoshi growled. "Sue, I told you to stop calling me that!"

"But you let your mama call you that." Kitsune pointed out which caused Yoshi to blush. "T-That is because she is my mom and she...refuses to stop."

"Or it is because you are simply a mama's boy?" Yoshi blushed deeper and glared at her. "No, I'm not! Shen calls me that too sometimes!"

"AhA! So you admit you have a crush on Shen~"

Yoshi face looked like a strawberry at this point, and he growled furiously. "I'm going to kill you!" He ran towards her, but Kitsune easily moved passed him and jumped in Saki's arms. "Save me Saki!"

"Kitsune, get off!" Saki demanded, trying to put her down but Kitsune kept a firm grip around his neck. "I will when you give me a kiss." She said while batting her eyes, laughing loudly at the look on Saki's face.

Yoshi gave Shen a look. "Out of all the girls in the dojo, why did you have to choose Kitsune to be your friend?" Shen smiled. "Because she's fun and very nice. Can she play with us?" Yoshi's first thought was to say 'no' but he softened at the happy look on Shen's face. Yoshi knows she is having a hard time making friends at school, he heard the grownups talking about it the last time she was here. "Fine."

"WHAT?!" Saki shouted and Kitsune gleamed. "Yes, now you and I can play together all day, Saki-san!" She hugged him much to Saki's displeasure and glared at Yoshi who only smirked, amused. "Maybe it won't be such a bad thing having Kitsune around more." Saki only rolled his, walking away with Kitsune still in his arms and Yoshi and Shen following.

...

Later that night,

Shen was sitting in bed, staring out the window when her grandma came in. She went over to her granddaughter with a smile and sat down next to her to tuck her in. "I am so happy you made a new friend, Shen."

Shen smiled at her grandmother then looked at her curiously. "Nainai, do you believe in yokai?" Amaya hummed. "Maybe a little. Why? Are you interested in them?"

"Yes. I believe yokai and magic to be real but no one else seems to." Shen said honestly and Amaya chuckled. "You know what my favorite thing is about you Shen?" Shen shook her head. "You are always filled with so much wonder and curiosity. Much like your father and you are also adventurous like your mother."

Shen smiled brightly at that. "Were you and my mother close?" Amaya smiled softly. "Yes, very close."

"What about Yeye?" Amaya hesitated. "They were close, but they argued a lot." Shen frowned. "How come?"

"Probably because they were so much alike." Amaya said, amusement in her tone. She then thought of something. "Shen, would you like for me to tell you a story about turtle yokai, called kappa?"

"Sure!" Shen chirped, making Amaya chuckle as she began to tell her the tale of the kappa who helped a young brave girl save her village.

...

Next day,

"And then her people and the village were saved!" Tang Shen said, finishing the story her grandmother told her to her friends. Saki scoffed. "Yokai would never help us willingly. Their monsters."

Shen frowned. "Not all of them are monstrous."

"How do you know, you never even met one." Saki said bitterly. "But the kappa is not, and my grandmother said that it became part of the village's history!"

"It's just a story, Shen." Yoshi said, siding with his brother on this. "And the kappa did not help willingly in that story. He did it in exchange for cucumbers."

Shen scowled. "You two just like to believe in badness in the world." Her eyes then caught Kitsune walking in the dojo after her mother. "What are you looking at?" Yoshi asked.

"Nothing! I got to go!" Shen chased after Kitsune, Saki watching her go. "She is off in a hurry."

"Eh, just leave her alone for now." Yoshi said with a shrug as he began to walk away, Saki following. "I still can not believe she believes in that silly yokai stuff." He said. "You know Shen, it's just the way she is. Remember how she used to make us play silly yokai games when we were little?"

"I hated those games." Saki said bluntly, remembering that he was always put out as the villain in Shen's games. "Can you imagine if we ever do meet a yokai? How cool would it be?" Yoshi said.

"If I ever do meet a yokai, I would destroy it before it could destroy us." Saki said darkly. "Well, don't have to worry about that. There is no way that they're real." Yoshi said and Saki nodded in agreement.

...

With Shen, she was walking down the halls of the dojo until she made it to the med bay where she saw Kitsune mixing something in a bowl. Shen softly knocked on the door, making Kitsune look at her. "Oh, hello Tang Shen. What are you doing here? Have you finally grown tired of hanging out with those two morons?"

Shen scowled. "Yoshi and Saki are not morons and no, I just came to ask you something." Kitsune turned back to her work. "Can it wait a moment? My mother is making me do all this boring work."

"It will just take a second." Shen said and Kitsune sighed. "Very well. What is your question?"

"W-Well, are there kappa?" Kitsune blinked in surprise. "Kappa?"

"Yes, turtle yokai. My grandmother just told me a story about them, and I was wondering if it was true." Kitsune hummed. "My mother has told me about kappa, but I have never really seen one. She thinks that they might have gone extinct." Shen frowned. "Extinct?"

"Yes, but who really knows, they might still be out there somewhere."

"A-Are they monstrous? Is it possible for them to be kind and help others?" Shen asked, Kitsune paused. "Oh, she told you the story about the girl and the cucumbers." Shen nodded. "The story is true." Kitsune said and Shen smiled but frowned when she said, "But it does leave out big details."

"Like what?"

Kitsune sighed. "Do you really want to know? It might upset you." Though nervous, Shen nodded. "Yes, the kappa did help the girl save her village, but something happened to her after. No fault of the kappa but after the girl saved the village, the next day she died." Shen's heart felt like it broke. "That is awful. How?"

Kitsune did not look her in the eye. "When the yokai arise, tragedy is sure to follow. As the legends say. We are believed to bring bad luck to everyone we help. The kappa helped her but then afterwards, she fell ill and died. Coincidence? No one really knows but somehow, it is always the yokais fault."

"Was it?" Shen asked after a moment of hesitation. Kitsune scoffed. "No. We are not gods, Tang Shen. I helped you yesterday, are you feeling sick or has anything bad happened to you today?"

Shen shook her head.

"Then there is your proof."

"What happened to the kappa?" Kitsune shrugged. "I do not know. He either left or humans killed him out of anger. Kappas are believed to be very intelligent and honorable creatures though. I have books about them, if you are interested?"

Shen smiled. "I would really like that. Thank you." Kisune then smiled in return but frown when her mother came in. "Kitsune, you are supposed to mix up the herbs."

"I am Mother, I was just talking to my new friend. Tang Shen." Kuzunoha blinked in surprise and looked at Shen. "Since when are you friends with this girl?"

"Since yesterday. Poor thing got herself lost in the woods and could not find her way out, so I helped her." Kitsune said with a teasing smile and Shen had to hold back her laugh. Shen does not mind getting teased, she actually finds Kitsune quite funny. She reminds her a lot of Yoshi's own humor.

Kuzunoha looked to Shen. "Well since you two are friends, would you care to learn how to mix herbs?"

"Really?" Shen asked. "Yes, you would probably be more helpful than my daughter is." Kitsune stuck her tongue out at her mother while she was not looking as Shen looked at Kuzunoha. "Well, are you interested?"

Shen grinned. "I would love to help."

"Good. Then come to the contour and I will show you what you will need." Shen nodded and did everything Kuzunoha told her to do. Kitsune smiled at Shen and was happy to become friends with her. She still finds it hard to believe that Shen accepted her so quickly and it made her wonder if she truly had to hide herself like her mother always claims.