Hi guys :) Just quickly, since I don't have anything to say, if you haven't already, PLEEEAAASSEE go and read my other story Yoso O Tatakatte.

It's my pride and joy, and I LOVE writing it, since it's a completely original story, but not many people are reading it, considering how popular The Wolf Inside is lol.

I'll love you forever if you read it and leave me a comment or something!! :D

Pic of Saffire --->

Saffire wasn'r originally meant to be in the story, but she was suggested to me by SaffireBarski, and boy am I glad I incorporrated her. She's sooo fun to write lol. So thank you SaffireBarski :)

Ashley’s POV

Saffire tackles me so hard that I almost fall to the ground, barely managing to regain my balance as she throws her arms around me in a tight hug.

“I’ve missed you so much Ashley!” she cries, shaking me back and forth as I laugh delightedly, hugging her back just as fiercely. Suddenly, Saffire’s white Wolf ears and tail appear, making me laugh even harder. They always appear when she has a rush of strong emotions.

I’d definitely missed my weird best friend.

“Me too Saff” I laugh, looking up and seeing a face almost identical to mine, except for the dark eyes.

Kiyumi stares at me through wide eyes, standing stock still. Before she can say anything though, a flurry of bright pink pushes past her and dives towards me and Saffire.

“Ley-chan!” a young voice screams, as two small arms wrap around my waist. Saffire and I both look down, only to see the utterly adorable face of Kurai, looking up at me with her large, fuchsia eyes.

My grin grows even wider, making the short girl jump up and down excitedly.

“Long time no see Kurai” I greet the older girl as she squeals and buries her face into my side.

“I’m so happy to see you again Ley-chan!” she cries, hugging me so tight that I wince. Saffire barks out a loud laugh, tail wagging, when a voice catches my attention.

“It’s really Ashley-chan! Yaaayyyyy!” it screams excitedly, before something suddenly lands on my back, making me jump.

“Huh?!” I exclaim, trying to turn and see what has landed on me. I feel two tiny hands grip onto my shoulders, as the someone on my back leans forwards and regards me with large green eyes.

“Tai-chan!” I cry brightly, making those eyes sparkle.

“You remember me Ashley-chan!” the small chibi says delightedly, clapping his hands, brown ears flopping cutely as he tilts his head. “I’m so glad! I thought you might have forgotten me or something. Which would be really, really bad, coz we’re friends and I don’t think friends should forget their other frie-”

“Tsumetai” a sharp voice scolds, cutting the small, orange haired chibi off. “Enough already….”

Both Tsumetai and I look up, my eyes landing on the unimpressed face of a handsome boy with messy green hair.

He sighs wearily, arms folded across his chest. The boy flashes me a tooth filled smirk, eyes flashing mischievously.

“He’s been dying to see you again for some reason” he informs me with a roll of his eyes. I smirk back, trying not to sweat drop as Kurai, Saffire and Tsumetai continue to hug me tightly.

“Atsui” I address the boy coolly. “Good to see you too.”

Atsui shakes some hair from his eyes, shrugging a shoulder.

As he opens his mouth to reply, a large body looms next to his, flame red hair flowing gracefully, the tips a bright golden colour.

I blink in surprise, eyes widening at the newcomer’s height.

‘He never used to be that tall’ I muse, watching as he lifts up an apple and takes a large bite, the crunch catching Kurai’s attention immediately.

Her head whips around, a bright smile gracing her lips at the sight of the very attractive red head now standing next to Atsui.

“Shimei-kun” she purrs, releasing me and skipping over to her boyfriend and grabbing onto his free hand. “Where did you go?”

Shimei blinks slowly, before raising his apple and showing it to Kurai, as if to explain where he’d been. Kurai nods in understanding.

“Well, now that you’ve got your apple….” Kurai looks over at me, eyes shining brightly. “Look! We found Ley-chan already!”

Shimei blinks again, slowly turning his head and looking over at me.

“Shimei” I greet, feeling a little bit shy. I don’t know Shimei very well after all. The first time I’d ever spoken to him was when I first went back to the Land of Ambience nearly three years ago.

Opting for holding the apple in his mouth, Shimei raises his hand in a lazy wave, before grabbing back onto the shiny fruit and taking another large bite.

“As chatty as ever I see….” I can’t help muttering, making Saffire laugh again. As she opens her mouth to say something, Kiba suddenly bursts out of Yakiniku Q, a concerned look on his face.

“Angel!” he cries. “What’s going o-”

He suddenly cuts himself off, blinking in surprise as all of my Minami friends turn and stare at him.

I see Kurai’s nose scrunch up slightly at the sight of him, as a wicked smirk slowly spreads across Saffire’s face.

Uh oh….

“Oh” Kiba says flatly, placing a hand in his pocket and casting my friends an unimpressed look. “It’s you guys.”

“That’s pretty much the lack lustre feeling I get when I see you too” I hear Kurai mutter, making Atsui grin nastily and Saffire giggle.

Kiba gives Kurai a withering look, earning a glare from the silent mountain that is Shimei.

I sweat drop, almost sighing with relief when Tsumetai leaps down from my shoulders and scurries over to Atsui, as Saffire leans back and finally releases me from her death grip.

“Good too see you again too Dog Boy!” Saffire barks, an anime vein appearing on Kiba’s forehead.

“Great” he mutters, leaning his shoulder against the wall and running a hand through his messy hair. “The female Naruto again….”

Saffire’s face suddenly lights up at the mention of Naruto’s name.

“He’s away on a mission” I inform her with a raised eyebrow, watching as she anime falls.

“How do you even know what I’m thinking?!” she cries, leaping to her feet and throwing her arms in the air.

I give a snort of laughter, giving her a cunning look.

“I know everything about you Saffire” I inform her dryly. “I can practically read your mind.”

Saffire blanches.

“That’s kind of creepy ya know” she tells me, earning a punch in the shoulder from me.

As we both laugh, my eyes drift over to Kiyumi, who is standing off to the side, looking around unsurely.

I feel a tiny smile appear on my face. Though as stubborn as me at times, when Keilor’s not with her, Kiyumi tends to grow nervous. She was always like that, even when we were kids. If both Keilor and I weren’t there with her, she’d feel so out of place and unsure of herself.

“Kiyu-chan?” I ask softly, walking towards her. Her head snaps up and whirls around to look at me, making her long hair swish across her shoulders.

“Y-Yes?” she asks, sounding strangely nervous. I stop in front of her and smile. She’s so pretty. Looking at her just reminds me so much of my Mother…

“I’ve missed you” I say warmly, giving my sister a closed eye smile. Her dark Uchiha eyes widen further.

“Really?” she asks incredulously, almost making me sigh. Why does she sound so shocked? Why wouldn’t I miss my sister?

“Of course!” I laugh, giving her a crooked smile. “You’re my sister Kiyu, why wouldn’t I miss y- oof!”

I am cut off when Kiyumi suddenly dives at me, wrapping her arms around me in a desperate hug, her face buried in my shoulder.

I step back in surprise, before smiling and hugging her back. I hear her snivelling quietly, but say nothing about it.

“I-I’ve missed you too Ashley” she mumbles, quickly leaning back from me and wiping her eyes.

She takes a shaky breath, before placing her hands on her hips and glancing around awkwardly.

“Uhh….Where are our Wolves?” she asks, making Kurai’s and Saffire’s eyes widen.

“I’m here!” Tsumetai cries from his spot on Atsui’s shoulder, waving an arm in the air.

“Not you you idiot” Atsui sighs, giving Tsumetai an annoyed glance. The chibi’s hand drops to the back of his head, as he pokes his tongue out and tilts his head cutely.

“Good question Kiyu-chan” Kurai mumbles, eyes filling with tears. “This is such a big Village….Poor Tamashi! He’s all alone and lost!”

Saffire rolls her eyes and waves her hand in a dismissive fashion.

“They’re fine” she barks loudly, not caring about the strange looks passers by are giving her. “They’re Wolves, and they’re big Wolves at that.”

I shrug, slowly inching towards a pouting Kiba, who is glaring off into the distance. I know he’s not really the biggest fan of my Minami family, considering he believes they stole me away from him.

“Besides” I speak up, poking Kiba in the back and smiling at him as he looks down at me. “I always walk through the Village with my Wolves, so the Villagers will probably just assume they’re mine.”

Kiba’s pout turns into a cute smile as I grab him by the arm and drag him back over to my friends, standing closer to him than I probably need to.

I see Kurai giving him a critical look, before she sees me watching her, and sends me an adorable closed eye smile.

I roll my eyes at her, shaking my head in amusement. I know for a fact that she doesn’t really like Kiba. She told me he’s nowhere near good enough for me.

At least Kiba talks, unlike Shimei.

Hearing something to my left, I turn my head. I see Saffire bounding over to a small building, jumping over a street vendor’s stall and clambering up a wall. She leaps onto the roof and rises to her feet, white ears turned forwards and a cheeky grin on her face.

“Saffire?” I ask cautiously, as she turns and sends me a wink. “What’re you doing?”

“Finding Fang, Tamashi and Keilor!” she shouts, before cupping her hands around her mouth and howling loudly into the sky.

I can’t hold in my giggle, as people walking by stop in the street and glance up at her, giving each other confused and suspicious looks.

“Good idea Saffire-chan!” Kurai cries, skipping up the same building and swiping her arm down at the ground. A quick blast of wind sends her sailing up onto the roof, landing gracefully beside Saffire. With a look of glee, Kurai places her hands around her mouth and joins in the howling, calling the three lost Wolves over in our direction.

Kiba tugs on my arm, catching my attention and making me look up and give him a questioning look.

“You know your friends from the Land of Ambience are weird right?” he asks dryly, making me deadpan.

“They’re no weirder than my friends from here” I retort, poking my tongue out at him and making him laugh.

“I guess” he agrees, pulling his arm from my grip and placing it around my shoulders instead. “But I’m glad you don’t go around howling like that at least.”

I give Kiba a wicked grin, flashing my sharp teeth at him and making him pause.

“Please don’t” he begs, sweat dropping.

As I open my mouth to reply, three more howling voices cut me off, making my head snap around to look forwards.

My face breaks into a wide grin, as I see three familiar Wolves bounding through the street towards us.

I can’t help laughing as Keilor suddenly spots me, ducking his head and taking off, easily leaving Fang and Tamashi in his dust.

Much to my surprise and dismay though, Keilor’s blue eyes are focused on me, as he flashes right past Kiyumi and the others.

I jump back from Kiba, waving my arms back and forth in a panic.

“No Keilor!” I shout, eyes wide as the lean Wolf leaps for me. “Nonononononononononono- Aarghh!”

I land on the ground on my back, Keilor knocking me down and eagerly licking my face, tail wagging lazily.

“It’s nice to like, see you again Ashley” he tells me in his cool voice, before Fang dives on me as well, Tamashi having enough dignity to skid to a halt in front of me.

“Ashley!” the pretty black Wolf barks happily, rubbing her cheek against mine and making me giggle. “How nice to see you!”

“Kai’s not here yet Fang” I laugh, knowing her reason for being excited to see me. Fang pauses, blinking her icy blue eyes.

“Oh” she sighs, sitting back on her haunches. I manage to push Keilor off of me, as Tamashi leans down and helps me to my feet.

After dusting myself off, I turn and grin down at the furry Wolf as he steps back and looks up at me from underneath his black top hat.

“Kiitos Sielu” I grin, bending down and ruffling the soft, white fur around Tamashi’s neck. “On mukava nähdä, että sinulla on vielä käytöstapoja.” (Thank you Tamashi. It’s nice to see that you still have your manners.)

Tamashi grins, showing me his razor sharp teeth.

“Aina rakas” he chuckles deeply. “Enyritämieleentapani, sillä Yon.” (Any time my dear. I do try to mind my manners, for Kurai)

Kiba sends me a bewildered look, being the only one here who doesn’t understand Susikiel.

I laugh, shaking my head. I’ll have to try and teach him some Susikiel so he’ll actually understand it.

“That’s my Tamashi” Kurai gushes, easily leaping down from the building and throwing her arms around the large Wolf’s neck in a loving hug.

“Yo Fang!” Saffire calls, catching her attention. “Where have you trouble makers been?”

Fang grins, striding past Keilor, who seems to be focused on a small wrapper rolling across the ground. He’s a bit strange sometimes that Wolf. You can never be too sure just what he’s thinking.

“Oh nothing Saffire” Fang laughs innocently, wagging her tail. Saffire narrows her eyes and studies her Guardian carefully.

“You’re such a liar!” she eventually decides, making Fang laugh again.

“Keilor?” Kiyumi asks seriously, suddenly right next to her Guardian, arms crossed. Her foot taps against the ground impatiently, an unimpressed look on her face as she raises an eyebrow at her obviously uncomfortable Wolf.

Keilor blinks, staring hard at the wrapper and shifting awkwardly under Kiyumi’s strong gaze.

I bite back a smile, just realising why he’s staring at a tiny piece of foil. He’s terrible at lying, and he knows that if he faces Kiyumi, she’ll know he’s lying.

“Uhhh….” Keilor begins, eyes wide as he focuses on looking into the distance. “We weren’t doing anything Kiyu-”

“Sure you weren’t” Kiyumi interrupts the Wolf sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “Don’t give me that Keilor, I know you guys were causing havoc somewhere.”

Keilor smiles innocently, looking up at Kiyumi and laying his ears back cutely.

“That won’t work Keilor” my sister snorts, an amused smirk appearing on her face. “Being cute only works on Kurai.”

Keilor’s shoulders slump in defeat, as he hangs his head and sighs.

Kiba nudges me, making me look up. He leans down to whisper in my ear, giving my sister a strange look.

“When she smirks like that, your sister looks exactly like you Angel” he informs me, making me laugh softly.

“Funny that” I reply with a smirk. “Since we’re twins and all, that’s kind of unexpected.”

Kiba deadpans, leaning back and probably thinking he should have expected a sarcastic answer. Seriously though, we’re twins. Of course we look the same. We’re not fraternal after all.

Tsumetai suddenly leans forwards on Atsui’s shoulder, a tiny frown crossing his adorable face.

“Hey!” he barks cutely, tilting his head to the side. “If you guys were having fun, why didn’t you take me with you?! That’s not fair Tama-chan!”

Tamashi sweat drops, obviously unsure why he’s the one being addressed.

“Hiljaa Kylmyys….” the black and white Wolf hisses lowly, glancing at Kurai innocently. (Hush Tsumetai….)

Kurai narrows her eyes suspiciously at her Guardian, as Shimei continues happily munching on his apple next to her.

Saffire suddenly whirls around and smacks Fang over the head, making the Wolf yelp in both pain and fright.

“Saffire!” Fang cries, rubbing her head and glaring at the black and white haired girl accusingly. “What was that for?!”

Saffire throws her hands on her hips, returning Fang’s glare.

“Tell us what the hell you were doing” she commands loudly. “You guys were seriously lagging behind us back there.”

Fang snorts indignantly and rolls her ice blue eyes, when we suddenly hear a shout from behind us.

“Hey!” the voice cries, making us all turn around. My eyes widen slightly, when I see Kotetsu and Izumo sprinting towards us at full speed.

“You Wolves!” Kotetsu shouts, scowling. “Hold it right there!”

“We aren’t moving though!” Fang informs him, earning another smack over the head.

“Don’t be smart Fang” Saffire admonishes, watching as Izumo and Kotetsu skid to a halt in front of us.

“Why?” the black Wolf questions under her breath. “You always are….”

Saffire grins cheekily, earning an eye roll from her Guardian.

Kotetsu glares over at Tamashi, as Izumi switches his harsh gaze between Fang and a dazed looking Keilor.

“Alright!” Kotetsu exclaims, throwing out his hand. “Where is it?”

Fang, Tamashi and Keilor exchange confused looks, before glancing back at the two clearly irritated Chunin before them.

“Arf?” Fang asks, making every single Minami face palm. She was really going to play that card?.....

Izumo walks right up to Fang and looms in her face, smirking darkly as he waves his finger side to side.

“Don’t even” he sneers. “I know you can talk. You were mocking us only two minutes ago.”

Fang blinks, before bursting out laughing. She rolls onto her back, kicking her feet with laughter.

“He is so unthreatening!” she gasps, holding her stomach and making Tamashi snicker.

Izumo blinks, before turning and facing Kotetsu.

“She’s still making fun of me….” he says wearily, sweat dropping. Kotetsu smacks a fist into his palm, making Saffire’s Wolf ears prick up. She eyes the tall Chunin warily, not liking his threatening movement towards her Wolf.

“We’re not stupid” Kotetsu informs us all, making Kiba and I smirk to ourselves. We’ve known Kotetsu and Izumo for awhile now, and although they make good Ninja, smart is not a word I’d use to describe them.

“Ugh…” Atsui sighs irritably, running a hand down his face and scowling at the two Chunin in annoyance. “What do you two want?”

Kotetsu’s eyebrow twitches, before he jabs a hand at Keilor, making the Wolf blink.

“These animals stole my pen!” he explodes, stomping his foot in frustration. “I want it back!”

We all raise an eyebrow. That’s what they’re so annoyed about?

Seeing our faces, Izumo steps forwards, holding a hand to the side of his head.

“I tried to give Kotetsu another pen” he explains, an anime vein appearing on his head as Fang grins cheekily at him, “But he’s adamant about getting that one back.”

“It’s not the pen I care about!” Kotetsu shouts, little puffs of steam spouting from his head. “It’s the fact that it’s mine, and they stole it.”

Izumo whirls around and jabs a hand at Fang.

“She’s the one that originally stole it” he growls, narrowing his eyes at the smirking Wolf. “And as the others joined in a game of Keepings Off, she was mocking me for being slow! Me! Slow! It’s ridiculous!”

Keilor sniffs, casually leaning back and using his hind leg to scratch his ear.

“Well like, you didn’t get it back man” the grey Wolf drawls coolly. “So you are kinda like, slow.”

Izumo’s neck wrenches around, eyes focusing in on Keilor as he shakes his head and ruffles his fur. Kiyumi gives me a dry look, to which I grin and shrug back. Izumo and Kotetsu were always entertaining, that’s for sure.

“What was that?” Izumo asks lowly, stalking towards Keilor. He looks up at the Chunin, eyes hooded.

“I said that your really like, slow man” Keilor repeats smoothly. “Maybe some sort of training is totally in order or something.”

Izumo’s hands ball into fists, as his eyelid twitches slightly, his face turning a slight shade of red.

“Is he going to explode Atsui-kun?” I hear Tsumetai whisper fearfully.

“Let’s hope so” comes the wry answer. “Then maybe the other idiot will leave too.”

“JUST GIMME BACK MY PEN!” Kotetsu shouts in Fang’s face, blowing her fur backwards.

She blinks a few times, before shaking her fur back into place and giving Kotetsu an annoyed look.

“I don’t even have it” she informs him huffily, turning her back on him. “Fool.”

Kotetsu freezes, before whirling around and pointing at Keilor.

“I don’t have it either man” he says before Kotetsu can shout at him.

Izumo and Kotetsu glance at each other questioningly, before they both turn around and stand in front of Tamashi.

The large Wolf merely sits back on his haunches and gives the two men an innocent smile, sharp teeth gleaming in the sunlight.

“Minulla ei ole teidän naurettava kynä, sinä typerä pikku ihmisille” he says warmly, making all of us, except for Kiba, chuckle quietly. (I don’t have your ridiculous pen, you silly little humans)

“Uhhh……What did he say?” Izumo asks, sounding thoroughly confused. He’s probably not used to Wolves speaking English, let alone a complete different language.

“He said he’s very sorry, but he isn’t sure where your pen is” Kurai speaks up brightly, wrapping one arm tightly around her Guardian’s neck, trying to stop him from laughing.

Kotetsu gives her the strangest look, before he sighs dramatically, shoulders drooping in defeat. Izumo pats his back comfortingly, subtly glaring at Fang from the corner of his eye. Seems he’s going to hold a grudge against her for her slow comment……

“Hey” I suddenly say, as something occurs to me. “If you guys are here……Who’s at the gate keeping track of people entering and leaving the Village?”

Kotetsu and Izumo glance at each other, before their eyes suddenly shoot wide open.

“The Gate!” they both shout, before suddenly whirling around and tearing off back towards the entrance gate.

Atsui sends me an unimpressed look.

“Are all Leaf Ninja like that?” he asks dryly, making me raise an eyebrow as I motion to both Kiba and myself. Atsui snorts and then smirks at me.

“Yeah, but I meant are there any Leaf Ninja who aren’t crazy?” he asks smartly, making Kiba scoff and me roll my eyes.

“Oh shut up Atsui” Kiyumi sighs, waving her hand towards him. The smug green haired boy gives a shout, as the earth below his feet suddenly trips him over, making him hit the ground with a thud.

Kiba grins to himself at the sigh of Atsui sprawled on the ground, as Tamashi produces something hidden under his top hat.

“He juoksivatpoisliian nopeasti” he sighs, holding the small item in his mouth. “Olin juuri aikeissa antaa heille heidän kynä takaisin....” (They ran off too quick. I was just about to give them their pen back....)

“Good work man” Keilor laughs, tongue hanging from the side of his mouth and making Kiyumi sigh.

“Tamashi!” Kurai laughs, releasing Shimei’s hand and diving on her Guardian in a hug. “You’re a naughty Wolf! You almost made me laugh!”

“Anteeksi Yon” Tamashi chuckles, hiding the pen back under his hat. (My apologies Kurai)

I sigh wearily, before running a hand through my hair and giving my friends a wry smile.

“You guys have been here for about five minutes” I begin, “And you’ve already managed to cause a commotion.”

My Minami friends, save for ever scowling Atsui, all give me bright smiles, the Wolves and Saffire wagging their tails.

“But it is good to see you again” I can’t help laughing.

“What are you guys doing here anyway?” Kiba asks, making me blink in surprise. Why hadn’t I asked that yet?

Saffire bounds up to us, standing closer than Kiba would like. In fact, I think he’d rather Saffire be standing on the other side of the Village…..

“We’re here” she begins, rifling through the bag on her back. “Because now that Master Dashi is the Chief, and the Land if Ambience is peaceful again, we want to strike up an Alliance with the Leaf Village.”

Saffire grins as she finds whatever it is she’s looking for, as she whirls around and shoves something in mine and Kiba’s faces.

“Huh?” I ask, pushing the paper away so I can read it better. “What is this?”

“It’s a Peace Treaty” Kiba says slowly, eyes travelling across the page, quickly reading the words written on it.

My eyes light up as Saffire carefully puts the paper back into her backpack.

“A Peace Treaty?” I ask excitedly, as Kurai nods eagerly.

“Yes!” she says brightly. “If your Hokage agrees, we want to be Allies with the Leaf Village again, like we were in the past.”

“That’s awesome news huh Angel?” Kiba asks me softly, smile down at me happily. I glance up at him and nod excitedly.

“It’s fantastic!” I agree, feeling myself blushing under Kiba’s affectionate gaze. “I just know Lady Tsunade will agree!”

“We better go and see her as soon as possible then” Kiyumi speaks up, smiling softly at me, making me nod.

“…..We don’t know where she is” Shimei speaks up, his voice a lot deeper than it was before.

Everyone pauses, looking confused and making Kiba and myself facepalm.

“I’m so lucky you’re the smartest one out of them all” he mumbles in my ear, making me grin.

“It’s okay guys” I say with a laugh. “We’ll take you to see Lady Tsunade.”

“Awesome!” Saffire cries, throwing her hands in the air. “Let’s go then!”

I nod, but as we proceed to turn and walk down the street, a voice catches our attention.

“Hey!” a man calls sharply, making us turn back around. He glares at us from the doorway of Yakiniku Q, tongs in hand and apron tied messily around his waist.

“Yes?” I ask rudely, giving him a disapproving look.

“You kids gonna pay for the meat that’s burning at the table you sat at?” he questions smartly, making Kiba and I pause.

We exchange sheepish looks, sweat dropping. Oops….

“Five minutes?” I ask my friends with a nervous laugh.

Third Person’s POV

Lady Tsunade shakes her head and sighs, tucking the classified list of ANBU Black Ops members into her desk drawer for the time being.

‘Danzo you snake’ she thinks dangerously, glaring out of the window. ‘How did you get classified information like this to Sai? And why would you want to get it to Orochimaru……’

Lady Tsunade sighs again, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes for a moment.

Minutes earlier, Team Kakashi had arrived back from their mission, and Yamato had informed her that Sai had been on a secret mission to kill Sasuke Uchiha, to prevent Orochimaru from using his body as a vessel.

According to Yamato, Sai had eventually decided to aid his new teammates instead of following Danzo’s orders. It was lucky he did too, or Orochimaru would now have extremely classified files on every member of the Leaf Village’s ANBU Black Ops.

Lady Tsunade’s eye pop open at the sound of someone knocking on her door.

‘Ugh, what could it possibly be now?’ she wonders, sitting up straighter in her chair.

“Yes, come in” she announces, watching patiently as the door knob is turned, and a familiar blonde steps into the room, brown haired boyfriend in tow.

“Lady Tsunade?” Ashley asks, sweat dropping when the Hokage’s head drops and hangs towards the floor.

“Oh great” she mutters. “Just what I need right now….”

“Hey, we’re not that bad” Kiba huffs, crossing his arms and glaring at the unenthusiastic Hokage before him.

“As thrilled as we are to be here as well” Ashley begins sarcastically, raising an eyebrow when Lady Tsunade looks up and glares at her irritably, “This is rather important.”

Lady Tsunade rubs her temples and nods her head once.

“Alright then” she mutters. “What is it?”

Ashley nods, before turning around and opening the door to Lady Tsunade’s office, allowing nine faces, unfamiliar to the Hokage, to flood into the room.

Lady Tsunade’s hands slowly drop from her face, as she eyes the five people, three Wolves and strange little boy now standing before her.

Lady Tsunade’s keen eyes immediately recognise the people as Minami’s, due to the unusual fuchsia colour of their eyes. The three large Wolves confirm her suspicions, as she had often seen Ashley’s Wolves in the past. The little boy with Wolf ears confused her greatly though. What was he supposed to be?

“Lady Tsunade” Ashley addresses, a nervous smile on her face as she glances at her silent friends, who are staring at Lady Tsunade with wide, uncertain eyes. “These are the last of the Minami Clan, except for our Master, who is back in the Land of Ambience.”

Lady Tsunade leans forwards in her chair, folding her hands in front of her mouth and studying the unfamiliar people in her office.

“Uh, Lady Tsunade?” the girl with black and white hair asks, sounding strangely nervous. Seeing the older woman’s caramel eyes flick back to her, Saffire continues.

“My name is Saffire Minami” she begins, bowing her head respectfully. “And this is my Guardian, Fang.”

“How do you do?” the Wolf asks softly, also dipping her head for a moment.

Lady Tsunade continues staring at Saffire and Fang for a moment, finding it slightly strange having another person with a talking Wolf in her office. She was only used to Ashley having such a companion.

“I am well thank you” Lady Tsunade eventually says, dropping her hands from her face and regarding Saffire and Fang seriously. “It’s quite a long trip from the Land of Ambience to the Leaf Village. How did you fare?”

Saffire smiles slightly.

“Yeah good” she replies, pausing as Kiyumi shoots her a swift, sharp look. “Uhhh….I mean, it was good...Thank you Lady Hokage…..”

Saffire sweat drops, having heard the stories that Ashley had told of Lady Tsunade and her fiery temper. Although bold and brash, Saffire didn’t want to get the brunt of the woman’s fury.

Lady Tsunade chuckles good naturedly.

“You don’t have to be so stiff and formal” she smiles. “Any friends of Ashley’s are welcome here. I’m sure our Ninja received the same hospitality when they were in your Village.”

“Actually” Saffire announces, hands on her hips and making everyone else sweat drop, “They weren’t treated that good, since Sirius was in charge and all. They were nearly killed and ended up-”

“Saffire!” Atsui suddenly shouts in annoyance, stepping forwards and shooting a killer glare at her. “Shut up!”

“Come and make me Atsui!” Saffire shouts back, never one to back down from a challenge.

“Uhh, Atsui-kun?” Tsumetai asks timidly, ears drooping as he watches Lady Tsunade through large, fearful eyes.

“Don’t challenge me Saffire!” Atsui growls, eyes narrowed dangerously. “I’ll hurt you….”

“Guuuuuys…..” Kiyumi sighs wearily, as Kurai just sends a surprised looking Tsunade a closed eye smile.

“HA!” Saffire laughs mockingly. “You couldn’t hurt me if you tried!”

“Oh yeah?” Atsui sneers, before suddenly diving across the room and tackling the short girl to the floor.

Kiba watches on incredulously, stepping over the two tussling Minami’s as they roll towards him. Ashley chuckles nervously, as Kiyumi merely sighs again. She’d come to expect actions like these from her friends. She had just been hoping they’d behave in front of someone as influential and important as Lady Tsunade. How silly she was for thinking they would…..

Tsunade sweat drops as Tsumetai and Fang scurry after their respective partners, carrying on about bad behaviour.

‘They’re all exactly like Ashley….’ Tsunade thinks dryly, looking over at the blonde and catching her eye.

Ashley just shrugs at her, stopping Atsui and Saffire in their tracks, as Saffire’s back hits Ashley’s outstretched foot.

The freakishly strong girl suddenly reaches down and lifts them both up by their collars, dragging them to their feet.

“What the hell is your problem?!” she spits at them both, narrowing her eyes. “Is this really the first impression you want Lady Tsunade to have of the Ninja from the Land of Ambience?!”

Saffire pouts, crossing her arms and turning away.

“It’s Atsui’s stupid fault” she mutters, causing the green haired boy to grow an anime vein.

“What was that?!” he explodes, looking ready to kill the girl beside him.

“SHUT UP!” Ashley barks frustratedly, glaring at them both. The two Minami’s blink, before begrudgingly closing their mouths and looking at the floor.

Kiba smirks, crossing his arms and watching his Angel in amusement. He remembered the days when he was the one being yelled at like that. How times had changed….

“Please forgive them Lady Hokage” Kiyumi speaks up, stepping forwards and sending her an apologetic look. “They’re just idiots” she adds, sending a nasty look over at Saffire and Atsui.

Lady Tsunade blinks, watching Kiyumi closely.

“You look very similar too Ashley” she suddenly says, catching Kiyumi by surprise. “In fact, if you had the same hair style and hair colour, you’d be twins.”

Kiyumi and Ashley exchange a look, before they both start giggling.

“That’s probably because we are twins Old Lady Tsunade” Ashley teases, winking at her.

“Ashley’s my sister” Kiyumi adds, smiling pleasantly as Keilor sits down beside her and begins staring out of the window.

“I’m older though” Ashley says slyly, poking her tongue out at Kiyumi.

“I see……” Lady Tsunade nods. “And who are the rest of you anyway?”

“Oh, well my name is Kiyumi” the blonde says, before placing her hand on Keilor’s head. “And this is Keilor.”

“Hey man” the Wolf drawls casually, one ear drooping. Atsui brushes his messy hair back from his face, bending down and scooping Tsumetai up into his arms.

“The name’s Atsui” he says roughly, as Tsumetai settles down on his shoulder, reminding Lady Tsunade of a parrot sitting on a pirate’s shoulder.

“My name is Tsumetai, but you can call me Tai-chan!” the chibi barks cutely, waving at the Hokage eagerly. “I’m a Wolf as well, but I like looking like this instead. Chi is my little brother, but we don’t see each other very often coz Chi-chan lives with Ley-chan and-”

Tsumetai is suddenly cut off by Atsui’s hand smothering his mouth.

“He also talks too much” Atsui sighs, giving the tiny Wolf an annoyed look.

“My name is Kurai” the tiny pinkette speaks up merrily, swaying from side to side. “This is my Guardian Tamashi, and this is Shimei!”

The tall red head raises his hand in a wave, apple in the other, on its way to his mouth.

“On ilo tavata” Tamashi greets, bowing his head and almost losing his top hat.

“What?” Lady Tsunade asks, giving Tamashi a strange look, as if he had just grown another head.

Kurai giggles, stroking Tamashi’s muzzle gently.

“He said it’s a pleasure to meet you Lady Tsunade” she explains kindly. “Tamashi can only speak in Susikiel.”

Lady Tsunade looks over at Ashley, silently asking for an explanation.

“Susikiel is the language that we spoke in the Land if Ambience” she informs the Hokage knowledgably. “It’s our mother tongue and we learn it from birth. So, apart from Tamashi, we can all speak two languages. It was originally invented by our ancestors as a battle strategy, so we could communicate with our Guardians, and the enemy wouldn’t know what we were planning. I guess people just started using Susikiel all the time, and eventually it became our native language.”

“I never knew that Angel” Kiba says, elbowing the short blonde playfully. She smiles up at him.

“You never asked” she laughs, making Kiba blanch.

“How interesting….” Lady Tsunade mutters to herself, before glancing up at the Minami’s. “Now, I assume you have some sort of reason for travelling all this way to see me.”

“Yes!” Saffire cries, scurrying over to Tsunade’s desk and producing a small stack of papers from her backpack.

“Master Dashi, the man who has trained and looked after us all” Saffire begins explaining, turning serious, “is now the Chief of the Land of Ambience. He recalls a time, back before we were invaded by Orochimaru and his men, when the Leaf Village and the Land of Ambience were Allies. He has asked us to travel here and speak with you and your council, to discuss an Alliance between our Villages.”

Lady Tsunade’s eyes widen slightly, as Saffire drops the papers on her desk.

“That’s a Peace Treaty Lady Tsunade” the girl explains, eyeing Tsunade evenly. “We understand if you require time to read and discuss it with your council, but when you do reach a decision, or if you have anything you need to discuss, please either speak with myself or Shimei. Master Dashi has chosen us as the two people to deal with these matters and to be liaisons between our Villages in the future, if we’re available to do so.”

Lady Tsunade nods slowly, already scanning the documents before her.

“I am very much in favour of being allies with the Land of Ambience” the blonde woman says with a small smile. “It served us well in the past, but I’m afraid I’ll have to speak with the others. I can’t make the decision on my own, although I’m very certain this will have a positive outcome.”

“Wonderful!” Kurai chirps, clapping her hands delightedly. “Master Dashi will be so pleased.”

“Have you got accommodation in the Village yet?” Lady Tsunade questions the Minami’s, making Kiyumi nod.

“Yes, thank you” she replies respectfully. “We will be staying in a hotel not too far from here.”

“Very well” Lady Tsunade nods. “You are free to wander the Village, though I can’t promise that there won’t be any ANBU Black Ops watching you every now and then. Not under my orders of course, but the ones on duty will no doubt tail you for awhile, to see if you’re a threat or not.”

Saffire waves her hand dismissively.

“Nah, that’s no worries” she says loudly. “We can handle a few ANBU Black Ops anyway, right Fang?!”

Fang gives Saffire a deadpan look.

“Don’t bring me into this Saffire” she warns, making the girl laugh.

“You’re dismissed” Lady Tsunade sighs, watching as the small crowd exit her room, Ashley saluting her goodbye as she closes the door.

“Hmm……” Lady Tsunade mumbles, drumming her fingers on her desk and looking down at the documents Saffire gave her. “That one reminds me of Naruto, except…..she’s a girl.”

With that, Lady Tsunade calls for Shizune, wanting to get started on these documents as soon as possible.