“Nogitsune?” 

Rei rests her hands on the stone edge of the sacred lake, gazing curiously at the queen seated on the ground, the flowing silks of her robes scattered around her. 

“Yes,” replied the queen, her tone serene, as she ran one hand through the younger fox’s wet, dark hair, stroking it gently like a loving mother. “Your destined one, my new moon.” 

Rei tilted her head slightly, her long eyelashes kissing her pale cheeks, making her seem almost naive. 

“Predestined?” she repeated softly.

The queen merely gave a mysterious smile.

 “You’ll know when you meet him, my new moon.” 

“Then I wish to meet this man that destiny has reserved for me,” and then she tested the name like a cadence that said everything and nothing at the same time. “Uchiha Shisui.”