Disclaimer: I do not own +Anima, just Kailey.

A/N: Welcome to the first chapter of my very first +Anima fanfiction. I absolutely love +Anima; it's a beautiful, not to mention well-done manga by Natsumi Mukai. I love the idea of +Anima and all its characters so much that I discovered my own. So, before we get this show on the road, I just want to make it clear that Kailey IS NOT a Mary Sue. Now that that's out of the way, let's get this party started! Enjoy!

Crash!

'Again?!' Harold Everson exclaimed as his twelve year old daughter dropped the plate she was drying. It had slipped out of her hands when she had jumped at the sound of her father banging the front door open. 'That's the third time this week! Can't you do anything right?!'

'I-I'm sorry, Father,' the girl murmured, bowing her head. 'I-I didn't mean to.'

'You never do,' replied her father as he strutted to his room. He returned a few moments later with the leather whip he used to break horses back when he had been a soldier in the Astarian army. 'Obviously giving you a good smack isn't working. Maybe this will remind you to pay attention to what you are doing instead of breaking every dish we own in this damn house!'

The girl's dark eyes widened in fear as her father took a step towards her. She then darted around him and ran out the front door. Her bare feet pounded down the dirt road heading for the woods as her plain brown dress swirled violently around her.

'What should I do?' she thought frantically. 'Even if I get to the forest I won't be able to climb any of the trees and Father is right behind me. Someone, anyone, help me please!'

The girl gasped in pain as her hands suddenly began to curve. Her nails elongated and sharpened into black points as tufts of red fur covered the backs of her hands. She then felt her tail bone ache and turned to see that she had a fluffy red tail. 'I-I'm a squirrel!'

Without a moment's hesitation the young girl scurried up the nearest, tallest tree and hid in its foliage. 'Now I'll be safe. But, what happened to me?'

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

Kailey smiled to herself as she carried her pile of acorns up the tree's trunk in the skirt of her torn, dirty dress.

After her father had chased her into the woods nearly four months ago, Kailey Everson had been living in the same tree with the powers that had saved her life which she used to scrounge up any food she could get her paws on.

Although she had been doing well on her own, Kailey could not help but feel a little lonely.

Maybe I should try heading to a town, the young girl mused as she reached for another acorn and accidentally dropped it. Not again.

The acorn fell and hit one of two boys who had been walking by.

"Ow!" cried the boy as he raised a gloved hand and jumped out of the way. He had silver hair and blue eyes that were so dark they looked almost purple. "What the heck was that?!"

The other boy laughed at him. He had long black hair and dark brown eyes. "You look funny, Husky."

"Shut up, Cooro!" Husky yelled back at him as his whole face turned red. He then noticed the acorn on the ground where he had just been and picked it up. "An acorn? I got hit in the head by an acorn?"

"I'm sorry!" Kailey apologized as she jumped down from her branch, scaring the crap out of the two boys in the process. "I didn't mean to drop it. It was an accident."

"Aw, it's alright," Cooro assured her. His dark eyes lit up as he took in her paws and tail. "You're a +Anima!"

Kailey took a step back. "I-I'm sorry?"

"You have the powers of an animal," Husky clarified who was also keeping his distance as he watched her carefully. "By the looks of it you're a squirrel +Anima. What were you doing in that tree anyway? Have you been living up there?"

Kailey nodded slightly. "For the past few months, yeah."

"Are you all alone?" asked Cooro. Kailey nodded again making the boy grin. "You should come with us then!"

Kailey stared at him incredulously. "R-really?"

"Yeah!" said Cooro as he glanced over at Husky. "Right, Husky?"

Husky looked away. "Whatever."

Cooro grinned and turned back to Kailey. "What's your name?"

"Kailey," she murmured.

"It's nice to meet you, Kailey! I'm Cooro," he told her, his smile never faltering. "And that's Husky. Welcome to the family!"

Family, huh?

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

"Man I'm starving," whined Cooro as the three of them walked into Abon Village. It was a small place filled with shops and lots of dust. "Hey Husky, can't we get something to eat?"

With what money? inquired Kailey as the silver haired boy sighed and reached into his pants' pocket. The young girl automatically flinched but relaxed when Husky pulled out the most beautiful wig she had ever seen. "W-where did you get that?"

Husky merely glared at her before heading towards the nearest stall.

"What is his problem?" Kailey asked Cooro. "Why is he so mean?"

"Husky isn't mean," the dark haired boy replied. "I think he just doesn't like girls because he looks like one. He was actually playing a mermaid princess in a circus tent when I found him."

Kailey stared at him with her mouth hanging open. "H-Husky was a mermaid princess?!"

Cooro nodded. "Mhm. That wig he's selling right now? That was part of his costume. He made a pretty girl too."

Well that explains a lot, decided Kailey as Husky returned wearing a floral fabric as a shirt in place of the leaves he had been using before. He was also carrying a bag of bread and a canteen filled with water. Kailey blushed as her stomach growled loudly.

"Here," Husky reached into the paper bag and tossed her a roll. He then turned to Cooro without waiting for her to say so much as a thank you.

Despite the boy's rudeness Kailey found herself smiling as she bit into the first real food she had had in months. The burst of flavor made the young girl sigh contentedly as she took another bite. So good.

Husky watched Kailey as she enjoyed here meal as two punks sauntered up to them. Apparently they were from some Garrison Gang and the village belonged to them. They also informed them that they were not fond of visitors before running them out.

"What was their problem?" demanded Kailey, panting. "They didn't have to kick us out like that!"

"They're gang members," replied Husky as if that alone explained everything. "What did you expect?"

"I don't know," Kailey admitted. "I've never seen gang members before." How was I supposed to know, o knowledgeable one?

"So what do we do know, Husky?" inquired Cooro. "How are we going to get through the village?"

Good question, thought Kailey as Husky thought about it for a moment. He then noticed the river flowing nearby and smiled.

"We use that," the boy replied, pointing at the water. "That river goes right through the village. We can use it as our guide."

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

Now I see why that circus had him play a mermaid princess, noted Kailey as Husky utilized his fish +Anima to grow gills, scales, and more notably a tail. That would certainly make breathing underwater easier… "Wait, if you're going to swim what are Cooro and I going to do?"

"Oh you don't have to worry about me," Cooro assured her as two beautiful black wings protruded from his back and spread out behind him. He flapped them a few times and took off into the air.

"Okay then what about me?" She turned back to Husky who was wading in the river and gave him what she hoped was a meaningful look.

The silver haired boy sighed. "Let me guess, you can't swim."

"Nope," Kailey confirmed.

"That's okay," said Cooro as he swooped down behind her and lifted the squirrel +Anima off her feet. "See? I can carry you."

"For the record, I am not okay with this," Kailey muttered as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Then it's settled," Husky declared, smirking up at her. "Let's move."

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

Boys and their bright ideas, mused Kailey sullenly, glancing down at Husky as they traveled along the river unmolested. That's when it hit her. Looks like I just came up with a bright idea of my own. "Hey Cooro?"

"Yeah?" asked the dark haired boy as he stared down at her.

"How fast can you go?"

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

Evidently Cooro could go very fast. The two +Anima had left Husky far behind in what felt like seconds.

Serves him right, thought Kailey as Cooro gently dropped her onto a field of flowers. I just wish I knew why he hated me so mu- "Cooro, watch out!"

Cooro had been picking the flowers when a giant creature suddenly appeared behind him.

A bear? wondered Kailey as Cooro yelped and jumped out of the way before flying to her side. No, wait. It's a person. He must be a +Anima like us. Maybe…

"Gee, thanks for waiting for me guys," Husky called sarcastically before realizing they were being attacked and stopped dead in his tracks but it was too late. The bear +Anima turned at the sound of his voice and charged Husky instead except this time he dropped something.

It's a book, discovered Kailey as she picked it up. It's got to be pretty important or he wouldn't keep it on him. Maybe this will calm him down enough for us to talk.

Kailey ran over to the two +Anima and threw herself between them, holding the book above her head so that the bear +Anima could see it. The bear +Anima froze mid-attack, his claws inches away from the book.

"He stopped," Husky murmured in disbelief. "Why?"

"This book must be really important to him," Kailey murmured back, never taking her chocolate eyes off the bear +Anima. "I'm right, aren't I?"

The bear +Anima dropped his claws and nodded. Up close he was a tall, skinny guy with long brown hair and wore an eyepatch over his left eye.

"What's your name?" Kailey asked him.

"…Senri."

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

"So Senri's been protecting you from the Garrison gang?" inquired Kailey later that night after she and the boys found themselves taken in by the villagers who had come running to see what was going on and realized they were just kids and not members of the Garrison gang.

"That's right, dear," an elderly woman confirmed as she led them to her small thatched house and began to make them dinner. Apparently Abon Village had its own specialty called Abon Weed Stir Fry. "You see, our fields are full of Abon weed but the Garrison gang wants to dig them up so that they can mine for gold."

"There's really gold here?!" breathed Cooro as their hostess handed each of them a bowl overflowing with Abon weed Stir Fry.

The old woman shook her head. "See they believe that Abon weed is a gold indicator that grows on top of veins of gold ore when in fact the weed is only useful for medical purposes."

No wonder I'm starting to feel better, mused Kailey as she finished the first real meal she'd had in months. "This is so good."

The woman smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. A young skinny thing like you could use a little meat on those bones. Would you like some more?"

Kailey blushed and nodded as the woman gave her another helping. "Thank you."

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

"Can't sleep?" guessed Husky as he sat down on the grass next to her. "…Thanks, by the way, for earlier."

Kailey stared at him. Did he just say-?

"What?" demanded Husky. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"It's nothing," Kailey replied. "It's just that I've never been thanked before. It's…nice."

Husky cocked a silver eyebrow but let it go. "Okay then. I'm going to go get some sleep. Night."

"Good night," murmured Kailey but the former mermaid princess had already walked back into the hut. The young girl smiled. I guess even moody, girl hating boys can be nice sometimes.

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

The next day Kailey, Husky, and Cooro were joining Senri in the Abon weed field when they spotted the bear +Anima being attacked by members of the Garrison gang.

The boys ran to help as Senri clawed the nearest thug, leaving a long red slash on his arm. Kailey would have helped too but someone grabbed her hair and lifted her off the ground.

"Let me go!" yelled Kailey as she tried in vain to twist out of the iron grip of whoever was holding her.

"Kailey!" cried Cooro, throwing a watermelon at her captor's head.

The watermelon connected with its target leaving Kailey sticky and covered in seeds and although she remained a captive, the moment did allow the squirrel +Anima to catch a glimpse of the thug who was holding her.

"Y-you're a woman?!" exclaimed Kailey as she continued to stare at an incredibly well-dress, not to mention beautiful, blond woman.

"I am the boss of the Garrison gang, I'll have you know," the blond woman informed her.

"What I want to know," grunted Kailey. "Is why you are holding me by my hair!"

"You're my hostage," she replied simply.

"Hostage for what?" inquired Husky. "The Abon weed?"

"Exactly," the boss confirmed as she raised a gun to Kailey's temple. "Leave this field now and we will give the girl back to you, after we find the gold of course."

Kailey knew the situation didn't call for it but she couldn't help it, the young +Anima laughed.

"And what is so funny?" demanded her captor.

"You and your gang," Kailey told her, still laughing. "You're all so stupid. The Abon weed isn't an indicator for gold, it's a weed with medicinal attributes that make up the village's famous cuisine."

"In other words," said Husky, smirking. "There is no gold."

"Which means you've been wasting your time," added Kailey.

The blond woman gritted her teeth and threw Kailey to the ground. "Well then, we might as well burn the entire field to the ground."

Kailey gaped at her. "You can't. You wouldn't."

The boss smiled. "Oh I can and I will. You just wait and see."

A/N: And there you have it! The first chapter of my very first +Anima fanfic. I hope you all enjoyed it. Until next time, read review and show the love!