In Fukuoka,

15-year-old Tang Shen was running as fast as she could through the school halls. She ran so fast, she knocked a few of the students and staff on the ground. "I'm so sorry!" She kept calling over her shoulder. She was almost there. She turned to her classroom door and slipped. She fell on her history teacher, Mrs. Kenshin, knocking her down to the ground, causing the papers she was holding to fly all over the place.

The students laughed. Once Shen realized what she done, she quickly got off of Mrs. Kenshin. "Oh, I am so sorry, Mrs. Kenshin!" She attempted to help gather the papers while Mrs. Kenshin sat up. "Miss Tang!" She scolded, stopping Shen in her tracks.

Mrs. Kenshin ripped the papers out of her hands then stood up, glaring down at her. "Late again." Shen stood up, with her hands together and she bowed respectfully. "I'm sorry Mrs. Kenshin."

"So you keep saying."

Shen cringed at her harshness then stood straight. "I swear I have a good reason. See, I was working on the chores at home and I just-"

"Lost track of time?" Mrs. Kenshin said unimpressed then rolled her eyes. "If you were not such a hardworking student, Miss Tang, I would have requested for the principal to expel you long ago but for now, I will just call your grandparents."

Shen frowned, knowing her grandfather was not going to be happy she showed up late again. "Go to your seat and the next time you show up late, come up with a better excuse." Shen looked insulted that her teacher was basically calling her a liar but said nothing as she sat down.

A girl behind her, kicked her chair, making her jump a little. "Nice going Clutz."

"Leave me alone." Shen demanded while turning to her and giving her a glare. The girl just gave her a smirk. "Or what?" Shen glare hardened. "Why must you always bother me? What have I ever done to you?"

"Miss Tang!" Mrs. Kenshin calls, making Shen turn to look at her. "Must I remind you of the class rules? No talking during class."

Shen bit her tongue and slightly bowed her head. "Hai Sensei." She said, annoyance crossing her when she hears the girl sneaker. She hated going to school here. Shen went to an all-girl school and she has yet to find anyone who is kind here. All the girls were all snobby and mean, even the teachers gave Shen a hard time when she was not acting very lady like, but she fails to see how any of the girls at her school are more lady-like than her. If being a lady means being snobby, rude and just overall mean, then Shen is not very sure she wants to be an lady. On days like this, is when she really starts to miss Tokyo and her friends. She allowed her mind to wander as the teacher gave her lecture.

'I wonder what they are doing right now?'

...

Tokyo,

16-year-old Yoshi chuckled to himself as he painted on the side of a bar, a man came out whistling but stopped when he saw Yoshi. He growled. "You're dead now brat!"

Yoshi just laughed and ran as fast as he could out the alley into the street. The man chasing after him. "You won't be able to catch me, old man!" Yoshi taunted before jumping on top of a house and jumping across the rooftops.

The man stopped running to catch his breath. "Damn you, Hamato!"

Yoshi landed on the ground when he was sure he was far enough and ran into the forest to a small river. He smiled as he looked up at the trees where the light of the sun shined through, taking in the moment of the wind brushing against his face. He sighed in content then used the river to wash off his hands.

"You are dead this time Yoshi." A voice said and Yoshi lifted his head up to frown at Saki. "You missed school again and you vandalized Mr. Sato's bar. Father is not going to be happy."

Yoshi glared at him. "You going to tell on me again, you dirty rat?"

"No." Yoshi looked relived about that for a second but it was short lived when he said, "I sent Masato to do it." Yoshi growled and stood up. "Why do you always have to get me in trouble?!" Saki gave him a look. "You do that to yourself. It is only a matter of time before Father finds out anyway, so why are you even upset?"

"Because you're my brother! You are supposed to have my back! Like I always have yours!"

"Unlike you, I listen to father and never disobey him, so I do not need you to have my back." Saki said dryly and Yoshi scoffed. "Right because you are the prefect son! You know, you never would have improved in your training if you didn't have me to help you!"

Saki was about to comment but got interrupted when he heard a familiar voice. "Hamato Yoshi!" They looked to see Hamato Yuuta and Masato coming their way. "Great, here comes the fun police." Yoshi muttered as he and Saki went to stand before their father.

"Yoshi, why did you miss school again and vandalize Mr. Sato's bar? What could have possibly provoked you?" Yuuta demanded and Yoshi glared at him. "Surprise you even knew about it, Pop, I thought you would be too busy to care."

Yuuta grabbed him by his ear and twisted it. "Ow! Fu-!"

"You are to go to Sato's and apologize, then you are going to clean all the paint off his walls and tomorrow you are going to school, am I clear?!" Yuuta shouted before pulling his son towards Sato's bar. "Ow! Fine! But can you let go of my ear, I need it to hear you know?!"

Saki watched in slight satisfaction as Yoshi got drugged away while 10-year-old Masato frowned. "Did we really have to tell on him? Father was really mad this time." Saki shrugged. "So?"

"Saki you know how hard father is on Yoshi." Saki rolled his eyes. "Oh, do not be dramatic Masato. If Yoshi would listen to Father, then he would not get punished at all. He will be fine, trust me." Masato frowned. "Ok..."

...

Hours later,

Even after all the work he did to get rid of the paint, Yuuta still scolded Yoshi afterwards and made him do hours of hard-core training. Now, Yoshi was sitting in his room and was grounded for two months. A knock came from his door and Yoshi looked to see Atsuko. He quickly turned away. Disappointing his father was one thing but his mom was a different story. It hurt when she was disappointed and angry with him.

"Why did you miss school and felt the need to cause trouble, Yoshi?" She asked, she would have scolded him but she already knows that Yuuta did enough of that already, so she decided to skip that step and talk. Yoshi sighed. "I just-I guess I just wanted a break."

"A break from what?"

Yoshi shrugged, still not meeting her eyes and there was a second of silence. "Yoshi, I know that you want your father's attention, but you can't just-"

"I don't want his attention!" Yoshi snapped. "Why would I?! Every time he pays the slightest attention to me it's just to scold or lecture me!" Atsuko frowned. "Your father loves you Yoshi, he-"

"Ugh! Why do you always defend him?! All he cares about is his clan, ma!" Atsuko sighed. "...That's not true..." Yoshi scoffed. "Well, it seems like it to me!" Atsuko opened her mouth to say something but Yoshi beat her to it. "Look, I'm sorry for today, ok? Can you just leave me alone now? Please."

Atsuko stared at her son for a moment before nodding and slowly leaving the room. "What were you doing in there?" Atsuko jumped at the sudden voice and turned to Yuuta who was scowling at her. "Talking with my son."

"You mean comforting him?" Yuuta said while crossing his arms. "You need to stop babying him, Atsuko. You spoil that boy too much."

"Well, you don't spoil him enough!" Atsuko said raising her voice, starting to get really frustrated with her husband. "Can't you see he's doing this just to get your attention?!" Yuuta glared at her. "Again, with this Atsuko?! Why can you not just let me be a father and raise my children how I see fit!"

"Because you aren't being a father!" Atsuko snapped. "Yuuta, we have been having this same argument since-!" She stopped herself then continued. "All Yoshi wants is your love and respect but you never show it to him."

Yuuta narrowed his eyes. "I am only trying to prepare him for the world, Atsuko. He needs to learn how to be a soldier-"

"He isn't a soldier! He's a child! Your child! Stop treating him like your students and start treating him like your son! Go in there and talk to him!" Yuuta shook his head. "I have nothing more to say to Yoshi. If he wants to continue this childish behavior, then I will continue disciplining him until he learns and if he does not learn...then he is not worthy to lead this clan one day."

With that, Yuuta walked away, not giving Atsuko a chance to argue further and she sighed in annoyance before leaving to wish her youngest son goodnight. Little did the two know that a certain someone had been listening the whole time.

...

Meanwhile, back in Fukuoka,

Shen was knitting alongside her grandmother as they watched the rain start to pour. Many found knitting boring, but Shen found it relaxing, it was a nice distraction from everything else. Shen paused however, when she saw a rat running around the kitchen. Fu who was cleaning up, noticed and jumped. "Ah! You filthy rodent!" He lifted up his broom to hit it, but Shen quickly got up to stop him. "Grandfather no!"

She took the broom from him before going over and picking up the rat. "Poor thing must have just been hungry." Fu gave her a stern look. "We can not have him here, Shen. It will ruin business."

Shen nodded. "I understand, grandfather. I will get rid of him but first, I would just like to feed him." Fu moaned unsure but Amaya smiled. "Husband, it would not hurt." Fu sighed. "Alright but take him as far away from here as possible soon after!"

Shen smiled and went to feed the rat. She set him down on the counter before grabbing a piece of cheese and chopping it up into small pieces. "Here you go." She said while giving him a small plate. The rat looked at her then at the food, slowly going over as if afraid it was a trap then he began to eat. Shen chuckled. "He seems incredibly smart."

Amaya smiled as she went to stand next to her. "Well, just because he is a rat, does not mean he does not have a soul or a mind. Everything has a life and spirit, Shen which is why we must be respectful and caring to the world we live in. Isn't that right, Husband?"

"Yes." Fu agreed then made a face at the rat. "But I am not sure about rodents." Shen smiled. "Do not judge him because of how he looks grandfather, is that not what you always taught me?" Fu gave a flat look. "I always hate it when you use my words against me."

Shen and Amaya both laughed. Shen then looked back at the rat to see his food gone and carefully picked him up. "I will take him somewhere safe now."

"Bring an umbrella, dear!" Amaya called after and they both watched as Shen left. "You did not say anything about how she was late to class again." Amaya said and Fu sighed. "I do not need to ask to know that Shen was here, helping with the restaurant to take less stress off us." Fu sat down at a near table, rubbing his temples. "I swear, she takes more care of us than we take care of her."

Amaya frowned at that but there was softness on her features. "But we did raise her well, did we not?" Fu huffed. "Yes, we did, we defiantly did..."

...

With Tang Shen,

Shen took the rat, to a nearby pond, somewhere she was sure he could get plenty of water and food. She set him down and smiled. "This is goodbye, my friend. I wish you well." The rat looked at her a moment then began to leave; Shen was about to leave as well but then noticed something coming out of the pond. She gasped when she saw it was four little turtle babies. "Awe! How cute!"

Shen went over and rubbed one of their heads with her finger. Shen has always loved turtles, mostly because of the yokai story her grandmother told her but also because of what Kitsune said about them. That they are believed to be intelligent and honorable creatures. Shen noticed the rat going over to them and she grinned when he seemed to take a liking to them. "It seems you will have friends to keep you compony."

The rat and the turtles all looked up at her and Shen sighed. "I wish I could be with my friends right now..."

...

The next day, in Tokyo,

Yoshi and Saki were sparring like usual in the dojo until someone interrupted their class. "Oh, uh, sorry for the interruption."

"It is quite alright, Jin." Yuuta said before going to the young boy. "I have not seen you in class recently."

"Yeah...about that...my parents signed me up for this new dojo that opened up. So...I am afraid I can not be your student anymore..."

"Do not tell me you are going to Miyamoto's dojo?" Saki said while crossing his arms and the boy cringed. "Yeah..." Yoshi glared at Jin. "You traitor! You've been a student of our clan since you were little and now you're leaving?!" Jin shrugged. "My parents think it is what is best for me...I just came by to let you know...I am sorry." Jin then left and Yuuta sighed heavily. "That is the fifth student I have lost this week."

Yoshi crossed his arms. "I don't get why everyone wants to go to their dojo! They're not even a ninja clan! We should do something!" Yuuta looked at him. "And what do you suppose we do, Yoshi? Pull one of your silly pranks on them? Fight them? Vandalize their dojo?"

"It's not like they haven't done any of those things to us!" Yoshi argued. "Miyamoto Ue has been stealing students from you for months and tries to make you look bad! His son Usagi is no better! He threw eggs at our dojo, teases Masato whenever he has the chance and he beat up Saki only a couple weeks ago!"

Yuuta looked at his son disapprovingly. "So, you want revenge? You want to do to them what they did to us?" Yoshi thought about it then answered, "Yeah." Yuuta rolled his eyes. "Revenge is not the answer, Yoshi. It will only cause more problems."

"But-!" Yuuta looked at him sternly. "No! That is my decision and you will respect it, understand?!"

Yoshi pouted but bowed his head. "Hai Sensei." Yuuta then left and once he was gone, Saki went to Yoshi. "I think you are right. We can not let the Miyamotos keep getting away with this. So, what do you suppose we do, brother?"

Yoshi looked at him slightly surprised. "Really? I thought you were too mature for this kinda thing." Saki shrugged. "I think your silly pranks are pointless and stupid but obviously, the Miyamoto are not going to listen to reason. Plus, I have been thinking about more about what you said about having your back. I want to be a better brother. So, what is the plan?" Yoshi grinned. "Meet me in the woods at midnight."