Regan Namikaze

She is the main protagonist in *Regan's Revenge*. Initially a young school girl, she is kidnapped by an organization known as the Tatsugumi and experimented upon, turning her into a fox.

## Information

### Affiliation

Bedfield (formerly), Tatsugumi (formerly), Shonzu Village (formerly), Takinawa City (currently)

### Occupation

Middle School student (formerly), Shinobi (temporarily)

### Aliases

Regan Laslow (formerly), Rega, Reg, Creepy Clown Fox

## Relationships

### Family

Martha Laslow (deceased biological mother), Jonathan Laslow (deceased biological father), Collis Laslow (deceased biological brother), Minato Namikaze (adoptive father), Kushina Namikaze (adoptive mother), Menma and Shinma Namikaze (adoptive brothers)

### Friends

Elena (former best friend), Kazuki Nishimiya, Michael Compton, Courtney Downes

## **Physical Appearance**

As a human, Regan had short brown hair, brown eyes, and pale skin. She had a petite, stocky body but could nonetheless perform athletic feats. Her usual attire consisted of a t-shirt and long pants, though she wore sweatshirts in colder months and shorts in warmer months. She also usually wore dark sneakers and a jeweled cross around her neck, coming from a religious family. After being kidnapped, she was forced to wear shinobi attire; this usually consisted of a dark red t-shirt, black sandals and pants, a shuriken holster on both her legs, a black flak jacket with a bright red dragon symbol on the back, and a long white scarf. She also had to wear steel gray armor on her arms and legs and mesh armor beneath her shirt. She later got a large scar over her left eye.

Regan's current disguised form is an anthropomorphic brown fox with black paws and a long, bushy, black-tipped tail. She has the same height as her human form, black ears and yellow eyes. A thick, spiky black mane of fur sits on the back of her head and neck. She has a lighter underside stretching up to her muzzle, and her inner ears are yellow. She retains this appearance as a Kitsune, albeit with nine longer tails, a larger mane and thicker fur and limbs. She no longer wears clothes, but instead has a rainbow collar with a black interrobang (a question mark followed by an exclamation mark) on a gold diamond-shaped tag around her neck.

In her corrupted form, Regan grows much larger than her original state. Her fur turns white, although her paws, ears, and tail tips remain black, and she gains two more pairs of forelegs. Her mane expands, running down her back and turning to multicolored crystal spikes. Each tail has several red eyes around its circumference with jagged stripes running down to the tips. From left to right, the stripes on each tail are a color of the rainbow spectrum plus pink and black. The insides of her left and right ears are purple and yellow, respectively. Her front paws somewhat resemble human hands, and all her paws have sharp green claws. A sparkling ruby has appeared on her chest. On each side of the ruby is a jagged stripe with all the rainbow colors running down either side of her body before fading to red and black on the leftmost and rightmost tails, respectively. She now has three eyes; the left and right are respectively red and blue with orange and green sclerae, and the middle one is purple with a double pink and yellow iris. A blue line sits in front of the middle eye, and a jagged yellow marking sits under her other two eyes. She has a green tuft of fur on the left side of her face and an orange one on the right. Her huge mouth is now jagged with three rows of sharp, serrated teeth, and a red outline. Her nose is also red, and she has a large differently-colored circle on each shoulder. The inside of her mouth is yellow, and she has a sharp purple spike on the back of each forepaw. She breathes red smoke due to her negative emotions getting out of control. In this form, she is noted to look like a creepy clown, thus giving her the moniker "Creepy Clown Fox".

## **History**

### **Chapter 5: Splitting Ties**

After their argument, Regan and Elena begin fighting more often, a sign of their friendship deteriorating. Elena begins hanging out with older kids while Regan keeps to herself. While walking home from school, Regan finds out she's three blocks from Elena's house and sees her cat Pedro approaching her. Regan tries to ignore him, knowing that Elena won't appreciate her touching Pedro due to their fighting. However, Pedro stops Regan by saying hello, and she realizes that she can understand him. Pedro, oblivious of what's going on between his owner and Regan, begins an awkward conversation. He follows Regan until she walks by Elena's house. Regan warns Pedro not to follow her and is about to bid him goodbye when Elena comes out of her house and sees the cat following her.

She hurries down the steps, scoops Pedro up in her arms, and angrily confronts Regan about what she was doing with him. Regan responds that he was merely following her and that she didn't touch him. Elena, however, accuses Regan of wanting to steal Pedro from her to get back at her for choosing Collis over her. A shocked Regan vehemently denies the accusation, asking Elena what she takes her for and if she's become delusional. She continues that her parents would never allow pets in their home. Elena calms down a little, but threatens to hurt Regan if she doesn't stay away from Pedro. Angered, Regan retorts that she'll hurt Elena if she doesn't stay away from her. Realizing that Elena has become toxic, a heartbroken Regan accepts that it's time to let her go. She tells Elena that if she wants to hang out with Collis, she can since she doesn't care anymore, declaring their friendship over.

Enraged, Elena yells that she can't do this, to which Regan replies she already has. Before the girls can continue arguing, Mrs. Martinez comes out on the porch and asks what's going on. Elena says it's nothing, while Regan politely tells her mother to keep Elena away from her. Elena snaps Regan's name, but the latter turns and runs home, crying. That night, Regan finds out from Mrs. Martinez that Elena has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

### **Chapter 7: Elena's Death**

The evening before the homecoming, Regan takes a walk through Allearth Woods to get her mind off things. However, she hears small footsteps behind her and sees Pedro following her. Regan asks him what he's doing, to which Pedro responds he wants to know what's going on between her and Elena. He reveals that he likes Regan and misses having her around. Regan replies that he wouldn't understand and keeps walking, but Pedro follows her, demanding to know. The girl thinks of the good memories she shared with Elena before their friendship crumbled, having a flashback of petting Pedro. She stops and begins to tell the story, but Elena arrives, having followed her and Pedro.

Regan coldly asks what she's doing, and Elena reveals she saw Pedro following her into the woods, once again accusing Regan of wanting to steal him. Exasperated, Regan tells her Pedro followed her of his own accord and tells her to ask him herself. However, Elena ignores Pedro completely and refuses to believe Regan, calling her a thief. She continues that Regan has always been jealous of her new friends and wants to hurt her. Regan snaps that she wants nothing more to do with Elena, reminding her they are no longer friends and calling her a half-wit. Elena asks if Regan is calling her stupid, and Regan replies that she is. Angered, Elena yells "Here's your stupid!" and attacks her former friend. Regan defends herself and fights back, not knowing that they're near the edge of a large ravine. She notes that while Elena is slightly taller than her, she's less experienced than Regan due to her own physical fights with Collis.

The girls furiously grapple with each other and exchange insults while Pedro watches in shock. He tries to tell them to stop, but they both ignore him. Elena manages to knock out a few of Regan's teeth, but Regan is able to get more hits in and is smart enough to use her surroundings to her advantage. She viciously batters the other girl back, and Elena stumbles and falls. Regan stands over her, warning her to stay away. However, Elena gets back up, saying she hasn't finished yet. Regan snarls at her to bring it, and they continue fighting.

The Martinez's arrive, hearing the commotion, and try to break them up. However, Elena grabs Regan's neck and starts choking her, ignoring her parents' cries for her to stop. In an act of self-defense, Regan scratches at Elena's neck with her fingernails, breaking off her pearl necklace, then bunches her legs and kicks Elena's stomach to throw her off. She, Pedro, and Elena's parents all watch in horror as a a screaming Elena falls to her death in the ravine, breaking her neck on impact. Mr. and Mrs. Martinez climb into the ravine and bend down next to Elena, unable to elicit a response from her. They mourn their daughter, and Regan passes out from shock after seeing Elena's body herself.

### **Chapter 9: Diagnosis**

Five days later, Regan wakes up in the morning to see her mother sitting beside her bed. Martha asks how she's feeling, and Regan responds that she doesn't know how to feel after what happened. Her mother reveals that Elena's parents testified in court on Regan's behalf earlier that morning, shocking her. When Regan asks why they did that, Martha replies that Mr. and Mrs. Martinez were the other two witnesses at the scene and they knew that Regan was defending herself, thus clearing her of any charges. Regan is relieved at this, knowing that Elena's parents were always clearheaded, unlike her own parents. However, Martha also reveals to Regan that the doctor diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder after observing her behavior for the past few days. Regan doesn't know how to react to this.

### **Chapter 10: Collis Gets Sick**

Regan spends the rest of her hospital stay reliving her trauma, and returns home a week later. Her parents are sympathetic with her, but Collis acts casually towards her; she realizes he reminds her of Elena's death since they were growing close, prompting her to avoid him as much as possible. Collis asks Regan why she's avoiding him, but she finds herself unable to recount the events and shuts her door in his face. She later hears her parents admonishing Collis and explaining the situation. She goes to school the next day, where she is shunned by some of her classmates who believe she killed Elena deliberately and label her a murderer, exacerbating the traumatic incident. However, she is still able to focus on her schoolwork and takes solace in the fact that Elena's parents had testified on her behalf. After school, she goes to the Martinez house to thank Elena's parents for defending her.

She returns home to find that Collis has fallen ill with the flu. Martha tells her that he's very weak and hasn't been out of bed at all today, and Regan remembers that he's immunocompromised. She asks her mother what they'll do if he doesn't get better, and Martha says they'll pray for him to recover. Regan becomes incensed and demands what good will praying do if Collis can't fight off infections on his own. She snaps at her mother for thinking such nonsense, leading Martha to call her a heretic. Regan loses her temper and punches Martha in the face, making her yell in pain, then storms to her room.

Later that night, Martha and John head out; they bid Regan goodbye, but she ignores them. Once they leave, she goes to Collis' room to check on him. Collis, who was sleeping, wakes up and gives his sister a heartfelt apology about what she's been through lately, promising to be more supportive in the future.

### **Chapter 11: Kidnapped**

A week later, Regan returns home from school to find Martha and Jonathan missing. She hears strange voices in the kitchen and rushes to confront the intruders. Five people all wearing strange clothing, led by a white-haired man with yellow eyes, greet her. Noticing blood stains on them, Regan sees them standing over her parents' bodies and screams in horror, triggering her PTSD following Elena's death. She drops her backpack and tries to run, but one of the intruders blocks her way, snarling that she's coming with them. Regan asks where Collis is and demands to know what they've done with him, but the leader of the group says he doesn't know. He tells two of his subordinates to grab Regan and handcuff her. They do, and she sees the futility in struggling since she notices they have weapons, though she is still panting in horror looking at her parents' corpses. The leader, who introduces himself as Suigetsu, orders his comrades to follow him with Regan in tow. She is taken to a large black van and pushed inside, where she is then handcuffed to an above rail. One of Suigetsu's subordinates sits next to her. A young silver-haired boy who looks to be 14 sits on Regan's other side. She glances at him, and he glares back at her, prompting her to look away.

Suigetsu commands her to tell him her name, which she does. Regan asks Suigetsu what he and his friends are going to do with her, but the man snaps at her to can it. He tells the boy next to Regan to gag her if she speaks again. The boy nods affirmatively and glares at Regan again, causing her stiffen and clamp her mouth shut. One of the men shuts the door to the van, and Regan tearfully looks at her house through the back windows as Suigetsu and his men drive away with her. After watching the house out of sight, the boy next to her tells her to face the wall, which she does. Suigetsu, seeing this, compliments Regan's quick learning, comparing it to her brother's. Realizing they're holding Collis captive as well, Regan looks at him and opens her mouth, but shuts it again. She wonders where Suigetsu took her brother, but in her current circumstances, knows better than to ask questions. The silver-haired boy again snaps at her to face the wall, which she does for the rest of the way.

### **Chapter 12: Akamaru and the Tatsugumi**

Eventually, Suigetsu and his followers arrive with Regan at a large building deep in a forest, which Regan realizes isn't Allearth Woods. They take her out and walk her into the building. She notices that the building is right next to a large river. Upon entering, Regan thinks that it's akin to a prison and smells something nasty, causing her to shudder. She flinches as the door slams shut behind her, wondering who these people are and what they intend to do with her. The people led her down several flights of stairs and through several more hallways into a large meeting room Regan gasps in shock when she sees a huge Kitsune sitting in the center of the room. The Kitsune smiles at her and greets her politely, telling Suigetsu and his followers to bring her forward. The people comply, and Regan becomes nervous. Suigetsu introduces her to the Kitsune, whose name is Akamaru, and the latter asks for her name. Regan hesitantly introduces herself informs her she'll become a part of their organization, the Tatsugumi.

Regan asks what the Tatsugumi actually is, and Akamaru reveals that it's a group of shinobi, which Regan thought to be long gone after the days of feudal Japan. Suigetsu informs her that shinobi still exist and are adapting to living with modern technology. Akamaru tells Regan that she'll be part of the Tatsugumi for the rest of her life, and the latter realizes she won't be able to leave on her own accord. She asks if she'll be killed should she try to escape, but Akamaru says no, and that Suigetsu had told him about her potential to become a valuable assent due to her intelligence and ability to communicate with animals. He then calls for unseen people to bring out the prisoner. Two men wearing the same outfits as Suigetsu and Regan's other kidnappers enter the room with Collis between them.

A horrified Regan begins crying and yells her brother's name. She tries to go to him, but is held back by the silver-haired boy, who tightly grips her arm with one hand and her midsection with the other. Panting, Regan watches as Collis weakly raises his head and says hi. She notices that he's much worse than before and demands to know what Akamaru did to him. The Kitsune replies that he denied Collis medicine when he refused to give an oath of loyalty. An infuriated Regan snarls that he can't do that and Collis needs medicine and care due to his weak immune system. Akamaru retaliates by threatening to kill Collis to intimidate Regan into submission. It works, and a scared, humiliated Regan pledges an oath of loyalty to the Tatsugumi in exchange for her brother's safety. Pleased, Akamaru rewards her by having the two men holding Collis to go treat him. He warns Regan not to step out of line. She promises, and the Kitsune declares her an official member of the Tatsugumi. He then dismisses her, asking to speak with Suigetsu in private. The others leave, and the silver-haired boy and an older woman take Regan to a dressing room, giving her a Tatsugumi uniform and ordering her change to put it on. Regan, saddened at leaving her old life behind, obliges, and prepares for a life of hardship.

### **Chapter 14: Kakashi**

Regan is taken out of her cell by Suigetsu and led to the silver-haired boy, who is ordered to begin training her how to fight. The Tatsugumi leader silences Regan when she protests, citing Akamaru using the sick Collis as leverage to force her to cooperate. Worried for her brother, the girl relents and agrees to undergo battle training. Suigetsu grins, knowing she's under his control, and leaves. Once alone, the silver-haired ninja boy introduces himself as Kakashi, revealing that he is Suigetsu's son. Shocked at this revelation, Regan promises Kakashi that she'll do anything he says, fearing that he's like his father. Kakashi takes her to the training room and demonstrates basic self-defense techniques, which Regan quickly masters.

### **Chapter 15: The Mission**

Two days later, Regan is woken up by Kakashi, who takes her to a briefing room where Suigetsu explains a mission that Regan and some other new recruits will be going on: abducting more children from their homes to recruit them under Akamaru's orders. Regan remembers when Suigetsu killed her parents and kidnapped her and represses a shudder. She decides to try to let the victims escape after they've been captured, not wanting them to suffer the same fate. Soon after, she meets Michael Compton and Courtney Downes, who have also been recently kidnapped and indoctrinated as shinobi into the Tatsugumi. They talk while preparing for the mission and share their fears, and Regan is apprehensive about trusting anyone after her own ordeals.

Kakashi and four other shinobi arrive. His companions introduce themselves as Jita, Gilan, Hiruka, and Nami. They collect the younger three and head out. Regan, Michael, and Courtney each receive a communication device from 13-year-old Hiruka, who is infatuated with Kakashi, to the latter's annoyance. However, Regan realizes that she can use Hiruka's fondness for him as a distraction to free whoever they kidnap. On the van ride, Michael and Courtney silently befriend her with looks and gestures, careful not to let anyone notice. Regan notices all the other shinobi wearing communication devices and knows her own mission will be harder. The little group arrives at the outskirts of Bedfield, parking the van in front of a red house, and split up immediately; the older shinobi form one group, while the younger ones form another.

The latter trio arrive at Regan's house, which is now closed off by police tape, indicating that it's become a crime scene. This triggers Regan's PTSD as she once again remembers her parents' deaths at the hands of Suigetsu and the others who kidnapped her. Michael snaps her out of her stupor and tugs her away. Regan reluctantly follows him and Courtney, sneaking one last glance at her house before continuing. Courtney is informed by Hiruka through her device that they're to retrieve two young girls who live in a white house two blocks away.

She, Michael, and Regan arrive at that house, and all three become apprehensive about going through with the kidnapping. Regan dares to peek into the living room window and sees the young girls playing. She relays this to her now comrades, then hears the girls' mother speaking. Michael hears someone approaching the house and beckons Regan and Courtney to hide with him; the three bolt to different places to avoid being seen. Courtney hides up a tree, Michael hides behind some bushes, and Regan hides behind the trash can at the back of the house. The other person passes by, and Regan realizes she needs to get the mother's attention so her comrades can carry out the retrieval successfully. She gets up and knocks on the back door, signaling for Michael and Courtney to wait before knocking again. However, the plan doesn't work, so Regan quickly decides to mimic the sound of a dog's barking.

The plan works, and Regan hides behind the side of the house when she hears the mother coming to the door. She grabs a baseball bat lying nearby and gets ready to pounce. The mother walks down the back steps; Regan sneaks up behind her and whacks the back of her head with the bat. The woman falls to the ground, unconscious. Michael and Courtney emerge from their hiding places, and the three of them enter the house. They see the girls playing in the living room. Regan volunteers to watch at the front door, and Michael and Courtney each grab one of the girls. Just as they're about to leave, Regan sees the father arriving home and warns her comrades. They bolt back the way they came with the girls, who start to scream. Courtney snarls at them to stop, threatening to hurt them if they don't. The girls quiet down, but their father is already alerted to what's happening and bursts into the house. Regan watches in horror as he sees her, Michael, and Courtney with his daughters and runs at them, shouting for them to stop. Michael and Courtney run off with the girls while Regan prepares to fight their father. She tells him they belong to the Tatsugumi now, infuriating the man. He tries to barge past her, but she trips him and hits him in the crotch with the bat before knocking him out with a blow to the head. She then drops the bat and follows Michael and Courtney, the latter of whom calls out to her.

They return to the van and discover that Kakashi's group has already abducted nine other children, three of whom are Lisa, Sylvester and Nico, Regan's classmates. Michael and Courtney deposit the blonde girls into the van. Kakashi informs Michael through his device that his group has gone to fetch more. Sylvester recognizes Regan and glares at her, saying he knew he couldn't trust her. Courtney looks behind the van to see that Kakashi's group is approaching with more young hostages. However, they suddenly turn and run off, and Regan hears sirens. Michael deduces that a police car is chasing them. The car, a cruiser, races past the van and turns left onto the next street. Regan then starts undoing the binds of Sylvester and the other kidnapped children. Courtney asks if she's lost her mind, and Regan responds by telling her that they might not be able to save themselves from a grim fate, but they can save other victims. Reluctantly, Courtney and Michael help Regan with freeing the kids. Sylvester asks why she's doing this, and she replies that it's what Collis would've wanted. Sylvester tries to ask where Collis is, but Regan shoves him out of the van, snapping at him to go. Once the others are freed, Regan tells them to run, seeing Hiruka, alone this time, approaching them. Hiruka shouts at Regan to stop the hostages from escaping, but the latter stands where she is. The kids are gone by the time Hiruka reaches the van; infuriated, she kicks Regan into the van.

The rest of Kakashi's group shows up empty handed. Michael asks where the kids they took are, and Gilan replies they had to drop them to avoid getting caught by the police. Jita asks where the previous nine hostages went, and Hiruka furiously spits that Regan let them escape. Regan gets up and glares defiantly at the older ninja, who all glare back at her. Kakashi demands to know why she did this, and the younger ninja replies that she saved them from the Tatsugumi, as working for people like Suigetsu and Akamaru would've been a death sentence. She spits to Kakashi that he and the others are no better than Suigetsu. An affronted Hiruka snaps for her to take that back, and Regan retaliates by spitting in her face.

Hiruka tries to attack Regan, but Jita and Gilan hold her back while Kakashi approaches Regan and handcuffs her to a rail. The others get in the van and drive back to base, their mission failed. Even though Regan knows she'll get in trouble, she remains triumphant knowing she saved eleven young lives.

### **Chapter 16: Regan's Punishment**

The group returns to the base. Jita and Nami escort Regan, and Hiruka angrily reports her to Suigetsu. Regan is brought before him, and he furiously admonishes her for disobeying orders. Regan stubbornly refuses to explain her actions, and Suigetsu retaliates by slashing her face with a knife, scarring her left eye. She cries out in pain, but remains defiant, knowing she's in the right. Suigetsu punishes Regan by sending her to work in the underground mines below the base, stating that she'll start now, but first directs her to the infirmary to have her eye treated.

At the infirmary, Regan is told by Toshi, the medic, that her eye itself hasn't been damaged, but she'll have to wear bandages to prevent infection. Regan thanks him and asks him to direct her to the mines. Gilan appears and says he was ordered to take her there himself. Once there, Gilan introduces Regan to an old man named Pete, who is in charge of the miners. Pete is kind to Regan, setting her to work immediately by teaching her how to operate a mining car.

### **Chapter 17: Suigetsu's Challenge**

A few days later, Regan, whose eye has been uncovered, is returning from work in the mines to eat with her friends. Michael and Courtney greet her warmly, with the latter asking about her eye. Before they eat, they and some other shinobi, including Kakashi, watch as Suigetsu helps himself to a large amount of food. However, Akamaru bursts into the room, snarling that Suigetsu won't eat tonight. Angered, Suigetsu snaps that nobody tells him he can't eat. Akamaru growls at him to do a better job at getting his subordinates under control if he wants to eat, glaring at Regan. Suigetsu replies that Regan has been punished enough by getting scarred and having to work in the mines, saying she'll do better next time. Akamaru isn't appeased, insisting that neither Regan nor Suigetsu, among other ninja, are pulling their weight, blaming the whole thing on Suigetsu. The Kitsune threatens to kill one ninja if Suigetsu doesn't get his act together.

This infuriates Suigetsu, who tells Akamaru that he's the group's leader and he decides how to punish his subordinates. Akamaru snarls that he's turning soft and lunges at him, catching him unawares. However, Suigetsu is able to defend himself fairly well, landing a few hits him. Soon, though, Akamaru emerges victorious by pinning Suigetsu to the floor and viciously biting his neck. Suigetsu soon slumps in defeat, and the Kitsune releases him at Kakashi's behest. Kakashi runs up to his father, asking if he's okay. Akamaru asks who the leader is, and Suigetsu concedes that the Kitsune is. He shakes his head and looks at Akamaru, who growls not to challenge him again. Suigetsu says he won't.

Akamaru repeats this before lunging at him again. Kakashi jumps back, and he, Regan, and the others watch in horror as Akamaru pins Suigetsu and rips off his left ear. Suigetsu screams in agony as Akamaru eats his ear and backs away. Kakashi cries that Akamaru has maimed his father, and the Kitsune responds that a maimed person threatens nobody. Gilan fetches Toshi and another medic, who put Suigetsu on a gurney and wheel him to the hospital with Kakashi following him. Regan flinches as Akamaru gives her a cold stare, realizing he can still hurt Collis if he wants to. She leaves the dining room, having lost her appetite, and Jita escorts her back to her cell.

### **Chapter 22: Swept Away**

Regan wakes up in her cell early the next morning to hear people rushing around outside. Gilan opens the door to her cell and tells her to come with him, as the prison is being flooded since the river burst its banks from the recent heavy rains. Regan follows him as he and the other higher-ups, including Kakashi, evacuate the prisoners, who are panicking. While the guards try to calm them down, Regan loses sight of Gilan in the throng. Seeing nobody else is occupied with her, she uses the distraction to flee down another corridor and up several flights of stairs.

While there, she smells Akamaru's scent mixed with old urine; she follows the scent trail and reaches the door to his room. Regan hears the Kitsune hacking and coughing and deduces that he has the flu, the same disease that Collis had before he died. She realizes that she can steal his Hoshi no Tama, which is housed in the large pearl he sometimes carried with him. She unlocks the door with a claw and sneaks into the room. Akamaru is lying in his bed with his back turned towards her, and Regan hopes that he won't smell her scent. Looking around for the pearl, she finds it in his closet and grabs it. Suddenly, an alarm goes off, startling both her and Akamaru, who is starting to wake up. Regan dashes out of the room with the pearl before he can see her.

She flees back downstairs to where she originally was and finds nobody there. Sighing in relief, she sees an exit door at the end of the hallway and runs toward it, but stops and hears rumbling that grows louder. Regan sees a huge wall of water crashing toward and screams in horror. She races toward the door in an attempt to outrun the flood, but it proves futile; the water slams into her and submerges her completely, carrying her out the door and into the river. She clings onto Akamaru's pearl for dear life, holding her breath, and becomes horrified upon seeing Jita jumping in after her. Knowing she can't outswim Jita, Regan prepares to fight for her life.

Jita grabs her, and Regan kicks out wildly, first in the face, then in the chin. However, Jita quickly recovers and dives at her again, reaching for the pearl. Regan manages to hold it out of reach, realizing that Jita intends to retrieve Akamaru's pearl and leave her to drown. Determined to survive and return home, Regan once again prepares a counterattack. Jita grabs her legs and pulls her down, but Regan uses the pearl as both a shield and a weapon, knowing that Jita will fear Akamaru's wrath if it gets damaged. She uses the fear to her advantage and kicks repeatedly, freeing herself. She swims upward toward the surface, kicking Jita away when she tries to attack her. The two fight for the pearl while the river quickly carries them farther and farther away from the prison with Akamaru still inside. Regan hopes that she'll be able to get the pearl as far away from Akamaru as possible, knowing he'll die if separated from it for too long.

She manages to resurface and catch her breath. Noticing the river carrying both her and Jita into a large lake in a forest, Regan removes her scarf, armor, and flak jacket to make herself lighter. Jita pulls her underneath the surface in another attempt to grab Akamaru's pearl, yelling something. Regan deciphers the word as "traitor"; she denies this since she was forcibly indoctrinated and kicks Jita in the side of the head. She then hits Jita on top of the head with the pearl, nearly knocking her out, then gives her one last downward kick to her shoulders to widen the gap between them. Regan then swims back to the surface towards the shore and leaves Jita to drown.

Once she resurfaces again, she swims to the shore before getting close enough to walk out of the water onto dry land. Panting with exhaustion, Regan shakes out her fur, then heads into the woods, where she removes the rest of her uniform and then buries it. She climbs up a nearby oak tree with the pearl, which she hides in a hole below the branches, and dozes off. After waking up, she gets down, leaving the pearl in the tree hole, and continues into unknown territory.

### **Chapter 25: Return to Bedfield**

Regan finally returns to her old house, which has had the police tape removed, and enters it. She goes to her old bedroom and packs whatever she can carry into her backpack and duffle bags, knowing she can no longer stay here for fear of being recaptured by the Tatsugumi, or worse, getting arrested by the police. She leaves her clothes since she can't wear them anymore. She then goes into each and every room, recounting the memories with her family, and tells herself she's alone now. After taking a moment to mourn her family, Regan hears a car approaching the house. Panicking, she sneaks out the back door and runs off.

### **Chapter 26: Living With Kakashi**

She flees down the street, avoiding other people seeing her, and finds refuge in an abandoned warehouse. There, she stops to rest, but gets ambushed by Kakashi, who holds her at gunpoint. Regan asks what he's doing here, seeing he's wearing a different outfit. Kakashi snaps at her to come with him, saying his car is outside. Regan obeys, bringing her stuff, and gets in the car. Kakashi reveals that both Akamaru and his parents are dead, and the Tatsugumi has disbanded as a result. A relieved Regan smiles, saying Akamaru got what he deserved for murdering Collis. Kakashi doesn't respond and drives to a large white house after getting off a highway.

He and Regan get out of the car, and Kakashi reveals the house is where his mother Hana lived, but her will states that he is the new owner of both it and all her money now that she's gone. Regan, feeling sorry for him, offers her condolences, and he thanks her, surprising her. She asks why he brought her here, and Kakashi reveals that his mother's last wish was for him to take care of Regan should she survive the Tatsugumi. He also says that in shinobi culture, a person may become a guardian once they turn fifteen, and Regan realizes that his birthday was last week. She asks about his relationship with Hiruka, and Kakashi responds that Akamaru killed her. He reveals that the Kitsune also killed Suigetsu for his betrayal, while Hana committed suicide shortly after learning of it.

Kakashi leads Regan into the house and shows her a bedroom she can stay in, though Regan plans on leaving soon, wanting to choose her own path. After putting her bags down, Kakashi gives Regan a bath, which she reluctantly allows since he recently lost his parents. Afterward, he dries her off and takes her down to the kitchen. Regan tries to decline, but Kakashi silences her with a glare. He gives her rice with an egg and a dark brown liquid to eat. Despite not liking the food, Regan eats it anyway, but only empties half the bowl, pushing the rest aside. Kakashi tells her to finish it, but she refuses, angering him. He takes her into the living room and spanks her before taking her up to her bedroom. He chains Regan to her bed as punishment, snapping she'll stay there until he says otherwise before leaving the room. A while later, Regan hears him learning to play a trumpet, a trombone, and a few other brass instruments.

## **Killed Victims**

* Elena Martinez (accidentally)
* Petunia Daniels
* Jita Ishida
* Akamaru

## **Skills and Abilities**

* **Musicianship:** Regan can play multiple instruments including: vocals, drums, piano, guitar, xylophone, accordion.
* **Elemental manipulation:** She can manipulate several different elements at her will to confound enemies.
* **Shapeshifting:** Regan's DNA was altered so that she can transform into any animal; however, she cannot turn back into a human.
* **Anthropomorphism:** Despite not being a human anymore, Regan still has many human traits, such as the ability to talk, grab things, and play instruments.
* **Animal Communication:** She can talk to and understand what other animals are saying, shown as when she and Pedro have a conversation.