Had she been asked where she would see herself in about ten years, the furthest answer from Uzumaki Kiku's mind would have been as a priestess of the Heiko Shrine, with a new name - Misao. She had never been much of the peaceful sort. Yes, she was calm - at least when compared to her siblings - but she had been raised by someone who pretty much considered violence a way of life. Kiku's training had started the second she had been able to walk. It had taken her a month longer than her twin brother - the silver haired deviant that walked by her side with a mischievous grin and a gleam in his eyes. She didn't need to look at him for more than a few seconds to know that he was up to something that would likely get her into trouble.

Well, it couldn't be helped. The two children had gone behind their mother's back, slipped out right from underneath the nose of their caretaker and decided to head towards the slums. Taking after her older half sister, Reiko, Kiku had been skeptical of the idea that Shinji described as an "adventure of a lifetime" but in the end had come to the conclusion that he needed someone with a level head to stop him from getting himself killed. After all, the six year old boy would have sneaked into the slums regardless of whether or not she went with him. And so she found herself following her twin brother through the shadier streets of Sunagakure no Sato. Kiku was suspicious of everything while Shinji had his mind set on his personal goal.

Kiku narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. "Do you even know where we are?" Asked the young girl. Shinji rolled his eyes at her as if she were asking something completely obvious. "Of course not, that's the whole point! We're on an adventure, we're supposed to not know where we're going," he answered with a cheeky smile. Kiku shook her head in dismissal. It couldn't be helped. Their mother was going to raise hell once she found out that they were gone. On the bright side, that would mean that they would be able to get out of wherever they wound up rather quickly, so they had that going for them, which was nice. All that Kiku knew was that she would protect her brother no matter what.

Boredom, one of the worst things that could happen to a person. Boredom made a person do stupid things. Sometimes those decisions brought happiness or misery. Maybe a little bit of both. It was really not a good thing, especially for an eight year old. Jet sighed heavily, her green eyes glowing red in the darkness of her room. It was hot and she was bored. Her mother had gone out to do some business and her father....she frankly didn't really care today. The man for all she knows could be working or  flirting with some other woman. Oh yes she knew her father was not completely faithful to mommy. Even though she loved him, the man was pathetic. He was greedy and selfish, barely giving a damn about his own family. He even sometimes beat her for no apparent reason. Jet was not the type to hold a grudge, but sometimes she just couldn't be so forgiving all the time. She was eight for kami's sake! With another heavy sighed she turned and fell off her bed, her head hitting the floor. Not caring about the slight bump she now had, she got up and went to the kitchen. It was dingy and barren as per usual. Opening the cabinet to her right, she found nothing, again as per usual. Her family barely made enough money to house themselves, let alone feed them. Her stomach grumbled as she search the other cabinets, finding only empty sake bottles and cobwebs. She frowned and rubbed her aching stomach.

As Jet turned away from the makeshift kitchen, she glanced at  her mother's tiny garden on the windowsill. It seemed some of tea leaves were looking well. She grinned as she found a bit of bread crusts and less than a palm size of cheese on top of a note next to it. Jet took it and devoured the food. When she finished she read the note. Her mother was reminding her to stay indoors and to not leave the house. Honestly this was unnecessary. Her mother never let her leave the house. The only time she is allowed to do so is when they get kicked out or have to move and even then she would have to stay by her mother's side. Jet didn't understand why her mother wanted her to live such a shelter life.

The slums weren't that bad. Yes there was multiple cases of theft, rape, kidnapping, and assault but these people were trying to survive in this run down over crowded community. Heck even in this hellhole, there were some decent people. Albeit shady but decent. She liked those people and their kids. But of course they all hated her. Not many people knew of her existence and the ones who did curse her for it. It was said that if you met a lime green haired girl in the slums, you would meet a terrible mate for she was a demon and will whisk away your soul to the depths of hell. It was idiotic really but she couldn't blame them. Whenever mother found about she made contact with other people, they would disappear soon after, never being heard from again. She knew it wasn't a coincidence. Her mother definitely caused it or at least had a part of it.

She was lonely and bored and her mother preferred it that way. Jet was a good girl but right now, she had to disobey her mother. She can't stand being alone in this place for another second. Taking a hairpin, she picked the locked on the front doorway and left but made she she locked it behind it. She didn't want anyone to steal what little they had. Jet hopped around some rooftops and made her way into one of the narrow streets. With her hair and excruciatingly pale skin she stood out like a sore thumb. A few jeered at her whilst the others moved away, having recognized her from the rumors. Rolling her eyes she skipped around, enjoying the sun on her body and the sand on her barren feet. It was peaceful really till a group comprised of older kids, both male and female, blocked her path. "Go back to your damn cave you damn monster! No one wants you here!" a boy around the age of fourteen yelled at her face his companions joining him, calling her various crude names. Someone even threw some empty cans at her. Jet backed up as more people surrounded her and shielded her face as more trash was thrown at her.

It didn't take long for Kiku to figure out that her brother was completely and utterly lost. What she wasn't exactly sure about was whether he had meant to do so in the first place or not. She was getting frustrated, her short temper beginning to rear its ugly head. She couldn't quite say that she liked the slums from what she had seen so far - the smell was downright foul and most of the people seemed suspicious. Kiku narrowed her eyes.

She and Shinji hardly looked like they belonged there. The first give away was their clothes, which were much too expensive and proper than something that the people living there could afford. Secondly, they looked much too clean compared to the other children there, who probably spent a lot of their time in the dirt. Lastly, the way they carried themselves was different - the presence they had and their posture spoke of a different upbringing. It was bound to bring attention to them at some point.

Shinji looked at her. He had his hands wrapped behind his head, slightly tilted to look up at the sky. He snickered. "You worry too much, Kiku," He commented lightly. The young girl crossed her arms in front of her chest and huffed. "Well one of us has to," she mumbled under her breath. He simply laughed in response and kept on walking. He stopped at a crossroads, Kiku falling in line right after him. After a few seconds of consideration, he turned left onto a narrow road.

Fate was an odd thing.

Accumulated experiences - this one included - would make Kiku realize that in the years to come.

Had the young boy decided to turn towards the opposite direction, their day would have likely gone by in a completely different way. They would never really know. But it was proof that the decisions that seemed the smallest could sometimes have the biggest impact. The two children walked down the street, which was empty and silent for the most part. Shinji's head suddenly tilted to the side as he stopped in his tracks. Kiku caught on quickly to his train of thought, without him even having to say anything.

They had come together into the world. There were things that they could know and sense about each other without the use of words or expressions. Their older siblings - Chie and Reiko, born under the same circumstances - could do the same. Kiku wasn't sure if it was something passed down to them by their mother's genes or if all twins could do the same. It was a curious little trait. In any case, Kiku's ears also caught wind of a faraway sound. It sounded like some sort of fight or conflict. She looked at Shinji, who only nodded in response.

Ever since she had been a small child, Kiku had always been protective of people, especially those that she thought to be innocent or pure of heart. She was always one to defend the weak. At the time, she hadn't quite realized how dangerous jumping into the situation could have been. She and her brother were only small children, after all. But then again, she had inherited her mother's hotheadedness.

They both ran towards the source of the noise. They found a small girl, maybe slightly older than they were, being picked on by a group of older children. "Hey! Stop that!" Shinji yelled. His usually peaceful and friendly expression turned angry. He stood in front of the girl protectively, his arms spread wide. The cans that they were throwing at the girl, along with anything that had traces of metal in it stopped in midair for a fraction of a second before shooting back towards the young teenagers. Magnet release - it was Shinji's gift at birth, though it came with a price, the full effects of which he would come to know in the following years.

Kiku would run up to the girl and wrap her arms defensively around her, while shooting a glare at the boys. "Who do you think you're messing with, kid? You're on the wrong side! That girl's a monster!" One of the boys - the one who seemed to be the oldest - yelled at him. Shinji let out a feral growl. "The only monsters I see here are right in front of me!" The young boy yelled back. There was no denying that he was brave, foolishly so. Mumbling something along the lines of boosting their numbers and coming back, the boys turned away and left.

Both Shinji and Kiku relaxed. "Are you ok? Did they hurt you?" Kiku asked. Her voice was kind and gentle. She smiled at the girl. She didn't care to know what those children meant when they called the girl a monster. She only cared to know that she was safe, at least for now.

Jet whimpered as she felt cuts appearing and bruises developing. It was definitely the wrong idea for her to go out into the sunlight instead of remaining in the shadows were she belonged. Curse after curse was thrown at her and fear crept up its way into her heart. She told herself repeatedly that she could fight back; that she would become the monster they saw her to be. Besides she couldn't risk getting traced back to her parents for kami forbid that would get fired. Father also had becoming scarier lately, going about things more aggressively. She remembered how lately she saw bruises appearing on her mother however whenever she asked mother would always lie, saying she was just clumsy and had a few accidents. Lies were hurting her mother. Why couldn't she see that? Jet remembered how often her mother covered up for her father. Yes they were husband and wife but shouldn't they never hurt each other? Jet didn't understand at all how adults worked. Maybe she will one day when she grows up.

Just then Jet felt like someone was shielding her. Lowering her arms, her eyes widen as she saw everything and all metal that was being launched at her stop midair before being shot back to the older children. Jet couldn't believe her eyes. How on earth did this happened? Jet saw a boy a bit younger at her shielding her. Was it because of him she wondered. Looking around that was the only explanation she could think of. Jet wondered how he could do it? Perhaps he was a sorcerer or something. If someone could read her thoughts, they would be completely flabbergasted that she didn't know about kekkei genkai or ninja but how could she. She never went to school and her mother only taught her the barest of things; like just how to read, write, and do simple calculations. Jet would've continued pondering however a girl looking like the boy wrapped her arms around her and.......defended her? Jet never had someone defend her, ever. It just didn't happened. Eventually the teenagers left them. When asked how she was Jet squeaked back, blushing hard that someone helped her and broke out of the girl's grip only to fall onto her bum. "Y-yes th-thank you" her voice was quiet and fearful as she didn't know how to deal with this. More fear gripped her heart when she remembered about mother. Scrambling to get up, her heart beated with worry "Y-you should go. If Mommy finds out you talked to me bad bad thing will happen!" Jet didn't want someone else to get hurt because of her. The whole ordeal made her eyes watery with tears but she rubbed them, sniffling while she did so that she wouldn't look ridiculous. "I'm sorry b-but you got to go"