Meditation really helped with expanding the range of my Hidden Mist Jutsu.  But even if I was able to expand it, I didn't feel like the jutsu was improving, any.

I was seated in one of the clearings that I'd found in the woods.  It wasn't too far away from the house, but far enough away from everyone else to be considered relatively secluded.

I felt through my mist, trying to sense when the trees would move, or when a bird would fly, but I was picking up on nothing.  It was as if there was no life at all in this clearing and the surrounding trees, and I was getting frustrated at the feeling of not progressing further with the jutsu that my family taught me.

Suddenly, I felt something small and swift moving through my mist, displacing the tiny water droplets suspended in the air.  I opened my eyes and took out a kunai, blocking the attack that was aimed at my torso, about where my shins would be if I was standing up.

My concentration broken, the mist faded, revealing my attacker.

I was surprised to find that the attacking offender was actually a small animal that resembled a weasel.  But there was something odd about this weasel.

It had two long, sharp, curved blades that protruded from its wrists.  They weren't shiny, so I can't say that they were made of metal.  If anything, they looked like they were made of ivory...or bones.  But if they were bones, they were stronger than steel, since they didn't snap in half when in collision with my kunai.

The weasel jumped back from me, and stared at me.

Not sure if it was friendly or not, I held my kunai in front of me.  The intelligence in its eyes was unsettling, making me think that, if I spoke to it, it would understand me, or even respond to me.  So, I spoke.

"What are you doing out here?  It isn't always safe for creatures like you to wander around."  My tone was natural, like I was speaking to another person, which I am sure not many other people would do.  But at the same time, I tried to keep my tone respectful, so that I could try not to offend the intelligent creature.

The creature's eyes widened slightly, before fixing me with a narrow glare.  The weasel was down on all four of its paws, its hackles raised and ready to lash out me.

It's small fuzzy mouth opened, and it, or should I say he, spoke.

"That's my question, human.  What are you doing so close to my tree?  You are too close to where I live for me to be comfortable, and you are scaring my siblings."

I raised an eyebrow at the weasel.  "I was training through meditation, and I found this small clearing that seemed to be deserted.  I'm truly sorry.  I didn't know that there was a family of weasels residing here."  I bowed my head to the weasel slightly during my apology.

"We're Kamaitachi, not weasels.  We only have the appearance of weasels, which is how we get our nickname 'Sickle Weasels'.  Don't make the mistake again."  The Kamaitachi scolded, pointing his paw at me with the blade protruding from his wrist wobbling through the air from the movement.  He was still on four legs, ready to attack or bolt if necessary, but his hackles had relaxed back down along his spine.

"I'm sorry."  I paused.  "Pardon me, but did I hear you correctly when you said 'again'?"  

The Kamaitachi gazed at me.  "Yes."  

I nodded.  "Ok.  Thank you."

Confusion danced in his eyes.  "You are a strange human.  What are you training for, anyways?"

"I'm a ninja.  I'm practicing a jutsu that would conceal me, along with everything around me.  Right now, I can only sense movement through the jutsu in the immediate vicinity, but I am try to widen my scope of perception.  What I was doing was trying to sense the movements of nature around me, but it wasn't going so well.  I can't sense anything moving."  I stopped myself and took a deep breath, knowing that my frustration was evident in my voice.  But, a look of knowing in the creature's eye made me pause.  "It would seem that you have an idea of what I am talking about, am I correct in assuming so?"

The Kamaitachi nodded.  "You need someone to move through your mist, so that you have something to sense, like you did earlier when I charged you.  You sensed me coming, and was able to stop my attack, which is not something that anyone has ever been able to do before."  He stood up on his back legs, and regarded me closely.  "I'll make you a deal, ninja.  If you can successfully block my attacks through the use of your jutsu and that kunai five times, I will sign a contract with you.  You haven't signed a summon contract yet, have you?"  I shook my head no.  "Good."  The Kamaitachi held out his paw for me to shake.  "Do we have a deal?"

I took his paw in my hand and gave it one firm shake.  "Deal."

Once I let go of his paw, I formed a few hand signs, and my mist surrounded us.  

At first, I didn't sense anything, but then, I felt something start to move.   Fast.

The Kamaitachio seemed to fly around me at speeds that I never even knew were possible.  I raised my kunai and tried to follow his movements.

Behind.

I spun around and used my kunai to block the first swipe at my shins.  A thwang sounded in the air before the Kamaitachi darted away from me again.  That's 1.

The creature zoomed around me.  

Left.

I blocked him, at shin height again.  Thwang.  Woosh.  That's 2.

He came from the right, and then from behind again.  Both times I blocked his shin-height attack with my kunai.  The last time our blades clashed, I could almost feel his frustration at being blocked.  

This last time, he spent a longer time preparing to attack me.  I felt him jump from the ground up into the trees, and start zooming from tree to tree, before leaping at me from above.

Thwang.

"That's 5."

The Kamaitachi glared at me before sighing.  

"Well, a deal is a deal.  Good job, human.  You are the first in about 100 years to successfully create a mutual contract with Kamaitachi."  The creature whistled loudly, and dozens of Kamaitachi came flooding out of the surrounding trees.  One of the smaller creatures came forward, dragging a scroll about ten times its size.  

The Kamaitachi that fought against me rolled it open, revealing the names of previous contract holders.  Or, holder.

Soozan Chomon Kishuu.

"Simply bite your thumb to draw some blood, and write your name in the next available name slot.  And after that is done, you and the Kamaitachi will officially be in a summoning contract."

I nodded and lifted my thumb to my mouth.  I bit down on the skin hard, and the taste of iron was accompanied by a stinging pain that ran through my thumb.  I bent down to the scroll and rubbed my throbbing thumb against my middle finger.  Using my middle finger, I signed my name in the slot next to Soozan Chomon Kishuu.

Once the last stroke of my name was finished, the blood seemed to glow slightly, before the scroll disappeared in a puff of smoke, along with all but two of the Kamaitachi.

I sat down on the ground in front of the two creatures, sticking my thumb in my mouth to try to stop the bleeding.  The taller of the two spoke to me, again.

"Now that we are in a contract, I think it would be fitting to know what my new master's name is."

I shook my head.  "My name is Utagawa Toshihiko.  But I would like to make one thing clear."  I looked at the two level in the eyes.  "I am nobody's master, not even over you guys, whom I have a contract with.  If anything, I consider all of you to be my friends who are always willing to help me if I ask for help. This is my promise to all of you and your family. I promise that I will never force you to do something that you are not comfortable with, and if you have a concern or a doubt about something, I want you to tell me, even if we are in the middle of a battle. The Kamaitachi are very intelligent, from what I have heard from the legends, and what I have seen here today. I value any wisdom that you have to offer me. I will be in your care." I bowed my head to the two silent creature perched in front of me.

A laugh seemed to come from the taller Kamaitachi that made the deal with me.  "Very well, Utagawa.  Let me introduce myself, along with my sibling beside me.  My name is Nisaku, and this is Taibakaze."

I frowned.  "Why is he named that way?"

Nisaku was confused.  "What do you mean?"

"Why is he named Bastard?"

The confusion in Nisaku's eyes cleared as he laughed again.  "Oh, that's because he is the youngest of us all, and quite honestly, he is the one that our parents didn't intend to have.  So one f the eldest siblings called him that, and the name stuck.  It isn't meant to be mean in any way at all.  However, there is a slight problem with him." Nisaku hesitated.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Taibakaze is the only Kamaitachi who can't travel between the summon realm and the human realm.  He was born in the human realm, so in the human realm he must stay, unless a human, who claims him as a familiar, travels to our realm for a visit."

I nod slowly, deep in thoughts about how to help rectify the situation.  "May I have the honor of claiming Taibakaze as my familiar?"

The two siblings looked at me in shock.  "Are you serious?  You don't even know if you guys are compatible!"

I glanced at the ever silent Kamaitachi.  "I think that we will work amazingly well together.  I have a feeling that, as a familiar, he won't let me down.  I feel like I can trust him with my life, even if we have just met."  Under my trustful gaze, the said Kamaitachi grew with pride.  

He turned to his sibling and gave a little chirp before nodding his head furiously.

Nisaku sighed before speaking.  "Fine.  I, Nisaku from the Kamaitachi pack, give my blessing for Taibakaze of the Kamaitachi pack to become the familiar of Utagawa Toshihiko."

After the last word of the blessing was spoke, Taibakaze and I both flinched as something seemed to rip right through our chakra coils.  I gasped with understanding.

Our chakra was now linked and intertwined together.  The amount of chakra that this little creature held within himself was immense.

We looked at each other in wonder before turning to face Nisaku.  he stared at us sternly.

"As I am sure you have noticed, you two are now bond through your chakras.  The role of a familiar is to stay by their human's side at all times, and to aid their human in any jutsu that the human wouldn't have been able to handle alone.  The Human's role is to take care of their familiar.  No matter what happens, you two are to take care of each other, to support each other, and to never leave each other behind.  From this moment on, you two are each others family."  A little smirk grew on Nisaku's face.  "And since you two are now brothers through chakra, that means that Utagawa here is now a part of our pack.  Welcome to the family, little brother!"